Lake Tapps’ household incomes are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
4.6% of residents are in poverty; Washington has 9.9%. The two grades for Lake Tapps are A+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 2% stay in Lake Tapps for work; outside it, Seattle is the main destination (12%, 29 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Lake Tapps stands out on work
Lake Tapps workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (30 to 32 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Lake Tapps is a place people come home to
There are 1,109 jobs based in Lake Tapps, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lake Tapps has about 8,000 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Lake Tapps’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lake Tapps is Seattle, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (728) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Three in four Lake Tapps workers earn over $40,000 a year
76% of Lake Tapps’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Lake Tapps
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Tapps is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #12 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($148,005, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Tapps could be anywhere from A to A+.
The daily trip from Lake Tapps: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Tapps workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,116 commuters (the 19% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The workday shuffle in and out of Lake Tapps
On a workday 5,724 residents head out to work, 145 work right here, and 964 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,000 people are in Lake Tapps on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.19 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The commute from Lake Tapps, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The kinds of work in Lake Tapps
1,109 jobs are based in Lake Tapps.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Tapps, 2013 → 2023: 960 → 1,109. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lake Tapps’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Lake Tapps commutes to
Where Lake Tapps clocks in
12% of workers
10% of workers
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Getting around Lake Tapps: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Tapps is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns, #253 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Lake Tapps near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,294 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 2% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.3% of Lake Tapps households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Lake Tapps’ commuters take a bus or train.
Lake Tapps next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000: 177th of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 175 | Linganore MD | 14,444 | $176K | 1.3% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 176 | Stansbury Park UT | 11,242 | $127K | 2.5% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 177 | Lake Tapps WA | 12,798 | $148K | 4.6% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 178 | Rochester MI | 12,824 | $112K | 4.2% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| 179 | Lisbon WI | 11,150 | $124K | 3.2% | 3.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Lake Tapps, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
15% of Lake Tapps works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Auburn (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Tapps workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Tapps | – | A+ | C | 37 min | $148,005 |
| Bonney Lake | under 3% | A | B | 32 min | $136,845 |
| Auburn | 10% | B+ | A | 31 min | $97,884 |
| Sumner | 5% | A− | A | 30 min | $98,191 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Tapps’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Lake Tapps: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Tapps?
$148,005 (±$25,109) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Tapps?
4.6%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Tapps?
37 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Tapps work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (12%, 29 mi), Auburn (10%, 6 mi), Kent (8%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lake Tapps walkable?
Lake Tapps is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Tapps without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Tapps, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Tapps
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.