Photo: A. Balet · CC BY 3.0More people are out of work in Okanogan (6.5%) than in 78% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, next to 20% for Washington as a whole. Okanogan grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Okanogan is behind 60% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Okanogan, in a few figures
Okanogan and Omak trade workers both ways
Omak is the top workplace for Okanogan residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Okanogan come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Okanogan workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 20% across Washington. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 840 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Okanogan’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Okanogan is better than 21% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Okanogan’s grade up (10.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 9% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Okanogan could be anywhere from D− to B+.
25% of working residents work in Omak
Where Okanogan clocks in
25% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
Getting to work from Okanogan takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Okanogan workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 913 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Okanogan
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In and out of Okanogan on a workday
On a workday 658 residents head out to work, 182 work right here, and 903 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Okanogan on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What the 1,085 jobs in Okanogan are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Okanogan, 2013 → 2023: 1,359 → 1,085. 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 Okanogan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Okanogan commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Okanogan is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Okanogan 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 941 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.0% of Okanogan households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Okanogan’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Okanogan is 4,061st of 5,401 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Cathcart WA | 2,064 | $130K | 3.2% | 1.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,059 | East Cleveland TN | 1,934 | $49K | 26.5% | 16.6% | 1% | C− |
| 4,060 | New Eagle PA | 2,018 | $52K | 15.7% | 10.5% | 4% | C− |
| 4,061 | Okanogan WA | 2,494 | $69K | 10.3% | 6.5% | 22% | C− |
| 4,062 | Ripley WV | 3,038 | $42K | 27.1% | 2.2% | 22% | C− |
| 4,063 | Sebago ME | 1,995 | $78K | 13.7% | 6.4% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,401 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Okanogan, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Okanogan and its neighbors: 25% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Omak. Darker towns draw more of Okanogan’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 Okanogan: questions
What is the median household income in Okanogan?
$68,611 (±$23,675) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Okanogan?
10.3%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Okanogan?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Okanogan work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Omak (25%, 4 mi), Wenatchee (4%, 73 mi), Seattle (3%, 138 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Okanogan walkable?
Okanogan is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Okanogan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Okanogan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Okanogan
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.