At 5.4%, unemployment in Midland is higher than in 67% of U.S. towns
Only 3% stay in Midland for work; outside it, Tacoma is the main destination (20%, 6 miles). The two grades for Midland are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Home is the office for 8% of workers, against 20% across Washington.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Midland, in a few figures
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Midland’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 33 minutes, longer than the Washington average of 27. Time on the road ↓
Midland and Tacoma trade workers both ways
Tacoma is the top workplace for Midland residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Midland come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
How Midland earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Midland is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #160 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Midland’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Midland could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
About 33 minutes to work from Midland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Midland workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,117 commuters (the 8% 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.
Commuting out of Midland: the destinations
Where Midland clocks in
10% of workers
6% 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.
Who commutes out of Midland, and who commutes in
On a workday 4,023 residents head out to work, 120 work right here, and 2,440 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,500 people are in Midland on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.62 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 kinds of work in Midland
2,560 jobs are based in Midland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Midland, 2013 → 2023: 2,861 → 2,560. 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 Midland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Midland works
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.
Midland is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% 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 4,463 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 57% 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 11.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 9.3% of Midland households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Midland’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Midland is 1,471st of 2,891 U.S. towns of 6,300 to 12,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,469 | Cincinnati Township IL | 8,825 | $84K | 8.4% | 5.1% | 6% | B |
| 1,470 | Phelps NY | 6,559 | $80K | 10.2% | 3.1% | 12% | B |
| 1,471 | Midland WA | 9,050 | $85K | 11.5% | 5.4% | 3% | B |
| 1,472 | Walker Mill MD | 10,931 | $88K | 10.3% | 8.2% | <1% | B |
| 1,473 | Los Alamitos CA | 11,702 | $97K | 8.9% | 9.2% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,891 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Midland, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Next door is work for 23% of Midland
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Midland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midland | – | B | A− | 33 min | $84,700 |
| Tacoma | 20% | B | A+ | 29 min | $85,884 |
| Summit | under 3% | B+ | B | 26 min | $106,736 |
| Parkland | 3% | B− | A | 31 min | $72,239 |
| Clover Creek | under 3% | B− | B+ | 33 min | $95,061 |
| Waller | under 3% | A− | B− | 32 min | $101,490 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tacoma. Darker towns draw more of Midland’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 Midland: questions
What is the median household income in Midland?
$84,700 (±$6,660) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Midland?
11.5%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Midland?
33 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Midland work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (20%, 6 mi), Seattle (10%, 31 mi), Lakewood (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Midland walkable?
Midland is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Midland without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Midland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Midland
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.