Photo: Yordanpopovbg · CC BY-SA 4.0Maple Valley’s household incomes are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A−: better than 79% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #75 of 285 in Washington.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns · #162 of 285 in Washington.
Working residents average 37 minutes each way (Washington 27, U.S. 26). Only 8% work in Maple Valley; the top destination outside it is Seattle (18%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Maple Valley
Maple Valley has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Maple Valley went from 3,049 in 2013 to 5,687 in 2023, +87%. The jobs ↓
Maple Valley 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. Time on the road ↓
Maple Valley’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Maple Valley is Seattle, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (2,422) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Maple Valley
77% of Maple Valley residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 56% of the jobs based in Maple Valley pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Maple Valley’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Maple Valley is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #75 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Maple Valley’s grade up ($152,885, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Maple Valley could be anywhere from B+ to A.
What the 5,687 jobs in Maple Valley are
5,687 jobs are based in Maple Valley. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Maple Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Maple Valley, 2013 → 2023: 3,049 → 5,687. 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.
About 37 minutes each way, longer than most of Washington
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Maple Valley workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,194 commuters (the 24% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Maple Valley commutes less than 16 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Maple Valley quiets down on a workday
On a workday 12,739 residents head out to work, 1,041 work right here, and 4,646 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Maple Valley on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.41 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.
18% of working residents work in Seattle
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Maple Valley clocks in
18% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Most trips from Maple Valley start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Maple Valley is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #162 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 13,390 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% 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 7.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 2.0% of Maple Valley households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Maple Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Maple Valley is 511th of 1,409 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Maple Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Mercer Island WA | 25,422 | $219K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Cottage Lake WA | 22,518 | $213K | 3.2% | 4.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 509 | Manor Township PA | 21,969 | $90K | 6.6% | 3.5% | 6% | A− |
| 510 | Lake in the Hills IL | 28,590 | $117K | 4.1% | 5.9% | 3% | A− |
| 511 | Maple Valley WA | 28,482 | $153K | 4.8% | 4.8% | 8% | A− |
| 512 | Wappinger NY | 28,215 | $95K | 5.4% | 3.8% | 11% | A− |
| 513 | North Huntingdon Township PA | 31,697 | $101K | 5.1% | 5.0% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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.
Maple Valley and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Kent (9%). Darker towns draw more of Maple Valley’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Maple Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maple Valley | – | A− | B+ | 37 min | $152,885 |
| Hobart | under 4% | A | B− | 36 min | $160,536 |
| Lake Morton-Berrydale | under 4% | A | C+ | 38 min | $129,833 |
| Covington | under 4% | A | B+ | 33 min | $134,502 |
| Kent | 9% | B | A | 30 min | $92,302 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Maple Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Maple Valley?
$152,885 (±$14,437) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Maple Valley?
4.8%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Maple Valley?
37 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Maple Valley work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (18%, 23 mi), Kent (9%, 8 mi), Bellevue (7%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Maple Valley walkable?
Maple Valley is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Maple Valley without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Maple Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Maple Valley
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.