Photo: Mlouns at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Manchester are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Manchester are B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. 11.9% of residents are in poverty (Washington 9.9%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Manchester apart
Manchester is a place people come home to
There are 270 jobs based in Manchester, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Manchester has about 4,300 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Manchester and Seattle trade workers both ways
Seattle is the top workplace for Manchester residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Manchester come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Manchester workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in Manchester: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Manchester is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #114 of 285 in Washington. Unemployment holds Manchester’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 23% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Manchester could be anywhere from B− to A.
Manchester quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,878 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 248 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Manchester on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.14 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 2024, primary jobs.
15% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Manchester clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
About 34 minutes to work from Manchester
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Manchester workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,543 commuters (the 16% 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.
81% of the jobs in Manchester pay over $3,333 a month
270 jobs are based in Manchester.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Manchester, 2014 → 2024: 234 → 270. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Manchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Manchester’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Good to walk, short on transit: Manchester
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Manchester is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #72 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Manchester 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 3,030 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 76% 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 0.7% of Manchester households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Manchester’s commuters take a bus or train.
Manchester is 1,132nd of 3,336 U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Larch Way WA | 4,424 | $160K | 1.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,130 | Mifflin Township OH | 6,116 | $74K | 7.3% | 2.0% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,131 | Salem Township OH | 5,210 | $62K | 4.2% | 1.4% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,132 | Manchester WA | 5,956 | $126K | 11.9% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,133 | Cortland OH | 7,024 | $72K | 9.8% | 1.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,134 | St. Clair Township MI | 7,159 | $93K | 5.3% | 4.3% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,336 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 3% | 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 Manchester, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Around Manchester: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Manchester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | – | B+ | A | 34 min | $126,371 |
| Bainbridge Island | under 2% | A− | A+ | 37 min | $172,188 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Manchester’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 2024, 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 Manchester: questions
What is the median household income in Manchester?
$126,371 (±$31,848) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Manchester?
11.9%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Manchester?
34 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Manchester work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (15%, 10 mi), Port Orchard (9%, 4 mi), Bremerton (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Manchester walkable?
Manchester is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Manchester without a car?
11% 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 Manchester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Manchester
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.