Photo: David Brooks (User:DavidBrooks) · CC BY-SA 2.5McChord AFB’s household incomes are lower than in 81% of U.S. towns
Only 3% work in McChord AFB; the top destination outside it is Seattle (11%, 34 miles). The poverty rate is 14.4%; Washington has 9.9%. Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers (Washington 20%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from McChord AFB, in brief
McChord AFB’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside McChord AFB is Seattle, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (49) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from McChord AFB are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker, and quicker than any town next door (29 to 37 minutes). Time on the road ↓
The jobs in McChord AFB pay better than its residents’ jobs
79% of the jobs based in McChord AFB pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 54% of the jobs McChord AFB residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside McChord AFB. The jobs ↓
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; with 452 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in McChord AFB: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, McChord AFB is better than 39% of U.S. towns, #224 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds McChord AFB’s grade up (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($54,808, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: McChord AFB’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, McChord AFB could be anywhere from C to B.
Half of McChord AFB commutes less than 27 miles
About 23% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
McChord AFB’s commute takes about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McChord AFB workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,463 commuters (the 2% 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.
79% of the jobs in McChord AFB pay over $3,333 a month
539 jobs are based in McChord AFB.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McChord AFB, 2014 → 2024: 792 → 539. 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 McChord AFB’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 437 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 524 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.19 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of McChord AFB: the destinations
Where McChord AFB clocks in
11% of workers
7% 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.
McChord AFB is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.9% across Washington, on an EPA index of 7.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,486 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). <1% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 31.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 2.1% of McChord AFB households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of McChord AFB’s commuters take a bus or train.
McChord AFB places 2,736th of 4,618 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Meadow Glade WA | 2,281 | $129K | 2.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,734 | Gray GA | 3,567 | $73K | 7.4% | 7.0% | 16% | C+ |
| 2,735 | Monroe City MO | 2,714 | $56K | 12.7% | 0.8% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,736 | McChord AFB WA | 2,999 | $55K | 14.4% | 0.0% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,737 | Odem TX | 2,291 | $69K | 11.5% | 5.9% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,738 | Bristol ME | 2,969 | $101K | 6.4% | 7.7% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 McChord AFB, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
McChord AFB and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Lakewood (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | McChord AFB workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McChord AFB | – | C+ | A− | 14 min | $54,808 |
| Lakewood | 7% | B− | A | 29 min | $74,720 |
| Parkland | under 2% | B− | A | 31 min | $72,239 |
| Spanaway | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 37 min | $98,251 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of McChord AFB’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 McChord AFB: questions
What is the median household income in McChord AFB?
$54,808 (±$13,754) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McChord AFB?
14.4%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McChord AFB?
14 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McChord AFB work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (11%, 34 mi), Tacoma (8%, 8 mi), Lakewood (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is McChord AFB walkable?
McChord AFB is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McChord AFB without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McChord AFB, from the people who make the trip.
More of McChord AFB
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.