Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Port Townsend (10.4%) is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
About two in five work in Port Townsend itself; outside it, Seattle draws the most (9%, 40 miles). For jobs and income Port Townsend is better than 11% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.8 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
What the numbers say about work in Port Townsend
Commutes from Port Townsend 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 ↓
Port Townsend’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Port Townsend is Seattle, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (317) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Port Townsend
The poverty rate holds Port Townsend’s grade up (13.5%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Port Townsend could be anywhere from D to C−.
Port Townsend’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Port Townsend workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,652 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Port Townsend
About 19% 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.
Port Townsend on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,276 residents head out to work, 1,449 work right here, and 3,045 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 (1.21 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.
Out of Port Townsend to work: where people go
Where Port Townsend clocks in
9% of workers
2% 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.
What work there is in Port Townsend: 4,494 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Port Townsend, 2014 → 2024: 4,076 → 4,494. 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 Port Townsend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Port Townsend, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Port Townsend is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #3 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Port Townsend 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 3,598 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 8.0% of Port Townsend households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Port Townsend’s commuters take a bus or train.
Port Townsend next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 144 | Edgewood WA | 13,548 | $116K | 4.6% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,692 | Conneaut OH | 12,247 | $62K | 19.4% | 12.5% | 25% | D |
| 2,693 | Mexico MO | 11,558 | $51K | 17.8% | 7.3% | 40% | D |
| 2,694 | Port Townsend WA | 10,678 | $63K | 13.5% | 10.4% | 39% | D |
| 2,695 | Lamar CO | 7,588 | $53K | 21.3% | 4.8% | 49% | D |
| 2,696 | Poteau OK | 9,171 | $51K | 19.8% | 6.1% | 32% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Port Townsend, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
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 Port Townsend: questions
What is the median household income in Port Townsend?
$62,606 (±$3,473) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Port Townsend?
13.5%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Port Townsend?
15 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Port Townsend work?
39% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (9%, 40 mi), Port Angeles (2%, 30 mi), Port Hadlock-Irondale (2%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Port Townsend walkable?
Port Townsend is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Port Townsend without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Port Townsend, from the people who make the trip.
More of Port Townsend
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.