Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Montesano has lower household incomes than 62% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Montesano are C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. 4.9% of residents are in poverty, against 9.9% across Washington. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.0 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 commute and the jobs: Montesano in brief
Montesano trades workers with the towns around it
Montesano has about as many jobs (1,936) as working residents (2,043), but they are mostly different people: 1,750 residents leave for work each day while 1,643 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Montesano are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Montesano are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Montesano
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Montesano is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #210 of 285 in Washington. The poverty rate holds Montesano’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Montesano could be anywhere from C− to A−.
A workday in Montesano: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,750 residents head out to work, 293 work right here, and 1,643 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 (0.95 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.
About 22 minutes to work from Montesano
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montesano workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,474 commuters (the 15% 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.
How many miles Montesano commutes
About 32% 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.
14% of working residents work in Aberdeen
Where Montesano clocks in
14% of workers
7% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Montesano
1,936 jobs are based in Montesano.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montesano, 2014 → 2024: 1,853 → 1,936. 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 Montesano’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Montesano
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Montesano is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #42 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Montesano 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 1,734 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 4.4% of Montesano households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Montesano’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,415th of 4,112: where Montesano ranks among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,413 | Rives Township MI | 4,794 | $86K | 10.5% | 8.9% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,414 | Liverpool Township OH | 3,771 | $67K | 8.0% | 5.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,415 | Montesano WA | 4,181 | $68K | 4.9% | 4.4% | 14% | C+ |
| 2,416 | Tyrone Township MI | 5,262 | $70K | 6.3% | 12.3% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,417 | Vienna NY | 5,130 | $83K | 10.8% | 4.2% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Montesano, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Work in the towns next to Montesano
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Montesano workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montesano | – | C+ | A | 22 min | $67,540 |
| Brady | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Brady: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Montesano’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 Montesano: questions
What is the median household income in Montesano?
$67,540 (±$16,118) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montesano?
4.9%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montesano?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montesano work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aberdeen (14%, 11 mi), Olympia (7%, 33 mi), Seattle (6%, 71 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Montesano walkable?
Montesano is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.9 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Montesano without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Montesano, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montesano
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.