Photo: OceanLoop · CC BY-SA 4.0Olympia has 2.4 jobs for every working resident: 48,496 people commute in to work
Jobs & income C+: better than 42% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #213 of 285 in Washington.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns · #17 of 285 in Washington.
Household incomes here are higher than in 58% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 20 minutes each way (Washington 27, U.S. 26). About one in three work in Olympia; the top destination outside it is Lacey (11%, 5 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.4 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Olympia
Olympia is where the jobs are
Olympia has 56,241 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 90,000 people are in town, 59% more than the 57,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Olympia are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Olympia pay over $40,000 a year
75% of the jobs based in Olympia pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Olympia draws workers from far and wide
The 56,241 jobs in Olympia are filled from a wide area. Olympia’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
What’s behind Olympia’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Olympia is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #213 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Olympia’s grade up (ahead of 73% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Olympia could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
Olympia fills up on a workday
On a workday 15,249 residents head out to work, 7,745 work right here, and 48,496 people come in from elsewhere.
About 90,000 people are in Olympia on a workday afternoon, 59% more than live here.
2.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Washington
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Olympia workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,088 commuters (the 26% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
56,241 jobs are based in Olympia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Olympia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Olympia, 2013 → 2023: 44,921 → 56,241. 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.
Where Olympia’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Olympia clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Olympia commutes less than 5 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Olympia is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Olympia is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #17 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Olympia 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 27,011 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 44% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 7.6% of Olympia households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Olympia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Olympia is 588th of 773 U.S. towns of 40,000 to 77,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Olympia, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Sammamish WA | 66,110 | $240K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 586 | Bloomington Township IN | 46,702 | $45K | 33.6% | 6.3% | 32% | C+ |
| 587 | Ypsilanti Township MI | 53,721 | $70K | 14.8% | 6.5% | 6% | C+ |
| 588 | Olympia WA | 56,724 | $81K | 14.0% | 7.3% | 34% | C+ |
| 589 | Greenacres FL | 44,736 | $70K | 14.8% | 6.6% | 4% | C+ |
| 590 | Carson City NV | 58,571 | $72K | 10.3% | 5.5% | 46% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 773 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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.
21% of Olympia works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Lacey (11%). Darker towns draw more of Olympia’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
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 Olympia: questions
What is the median household income in Olympia?
$81,302 (±$4,826) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Olympia?
14.0%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Olympia?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Olympia work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lacey (11%, 5 mi), Tumwater (10%, 4 mi), Seattle (6%, 47 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Olympia walkable?
Olympia is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Olympia without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 44% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Olympia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Olympia
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.