Photo: Corbin Harder · CC BY-SA 4.0Richland has 1.5 jobs for every working resident: 30,533 people commute in to work
Jobs & income B: better than 58% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #163 of 285 in Washington.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns · #141 of 285 in Washington.
Household incomes here are higher than in 74% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 20 minutes each way (Washington 27, U.S. 26). About two in five work in Richland; the top destination outside it is Kennewick (17%, 8 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.0 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
Work and commuting in Richland, in brief
Richland and Kennewick trade workers both ways
Kennewick is the top workplace for Richland residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Richland come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Richland is where the jobs are
Richland has 41,607 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Richland 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 Richland pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Richland pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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 Richland’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Richland is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #163 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Richland’s grade up ($95,813, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Richland could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Where Richland’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Richland clocks in
17% of workers
9% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Richland fills up on a workday
On a workday 15,825 residents head out to work, 11,074 work right here, and 30,533 people come in from elsewhere.
About 80,000 people are in Richland on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.5 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 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Richland workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24,489 commuters (the 16% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
73% of the jobs in Richland pay over $3,333 a month
41,607 jobs are based in Richland. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Richland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Richland, 2013 → 2023: 33,821 → 41,607. 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.
Half of Richland commutes less than 6 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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 2023.
Richland 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, Richland is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #141 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 29,274 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 83% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 4.2% of Richland households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Richland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Richland is 402nd of 661 U.S. towns of 46,000 to 88,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Richland, 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 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Sammamish WA | 66,110 | $240K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Redmond WA | 82,506 | $163K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 32% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 400 | Monterey Park CA | 57,457 | $82K | 12.4% | 6.1% | 9% | B |
| 401 | Post Falls ID | 46,715 | $82K | 11.1% | 3.3% | 22% | B |
| 402 | Richland WA | 65,258 | $96K | 9.0% | 5.6% | 41% | B |
| 403 | Loveland CO | 81,387 | $85K | 8.5% | 5.4% | 23% | B |
| 404 | Mableton GA | 78,820 | $78K | 13.5% | 4.9% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 661 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | 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.
30% of Richland works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Kennewick (17%). Darker towns draw more of Richland’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Richland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richland | – | B | A− | 20 min | $95,813 |
| Kennewick | 17% | C+ | A− | 21 min | $73,576 |
| West Richland | 4% | B | A− | 25 min | $119,892 |
| Pasco | 9% | B− | B+ | 23 min | $85,586 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Richland: questions
What is the median household income in Richland?
$95,813 (±$3,559) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Richland?
9.0%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Richland?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Richland work?
41% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kennewick (17%, 8 mi), Pasco (9%, 8 mi), West Richland (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Richland walkable?
Richland is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Richland without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Richland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Richland
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.