Photo: publichall · CC BY-SA 3.0Work and commuting in Odessa
A typical one-way commute lasts 15 minutes, where Washington has 27 and the U.S. 26. 4% of workers work from home, next to 20% for Washington as a whole. About one in seven work in Odessa itself; outside it, Spokane draws the most (10%, 63 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Odessa apart on work
A big share show a job far from home
57% 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 ↓
Odessa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Odessa is Spokane, 63 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (33) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Odessa are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker. Time on the road ↓
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 319 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where in the region Odessa works
About 57% 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.
Each way, about 15 minutes from Odessa
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Odessa workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 304 commuters (the 3% 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.
Who commutes out of Odessa, and who commutes in
On a workday 277 residents head out to work, 42 work right here, and 234 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 (0.87 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.
The places Odessa commutes to
Where Odessa clocks in
10% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Odessa
276 jobs are based in Odessa.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Odessa, 2014 → 2024: 342 → 276. 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 Odessa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Odessa: questions
What is the median household income in Odessa?
$49,750 (±$8,761) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Odessa?
16.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Odessa?
15 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Odessa work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spokane (10%, 63 mi), Spokane Valley (7%, 72 mi), Davenport (4%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Odessa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Odessa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Odessa
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.