Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of McKenna works elsewhere
Hardly any work in McKenna itself; outside it, Tacoma draws the most (12%, 22 miles). There are 26 jobs in McKenna, against 268 working residents. Home is the office for 9% of workers; Washington has 20%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where McKenna stands out on work
McKenna is a place people come home to
There are 26 jobs based in McKenna, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday McKenna has about 430 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
McKenna’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside McKenna is Tacoma, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (33) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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; with 268 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The workday shuffle in and out of McKenna
On a workday 267 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere.
About 430 people are in McKenna on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from McKenna
About 16% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The places McKenna commutes to
Where McKenna clocks in
11% 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.
What McKenna’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McKenna, 2013 → 2023: 6 → 26. 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 McKenna’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in McKenna
of McKenna workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 187 commuters (the 9% 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.
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 McKenna: questions
What is the median household income in McKenna?
$92,667 (±$21,035) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McKenna?
19.4%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in McKenna work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (12%, 22 mi), Seattle (11%, 48 mi), Spanaway (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around McKenna without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McKenna, from the people who make the trip.
More of McKenna
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.