Photo: Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Roy works elsewhere
Roy has 92 jobs for 303 working residents. Hardly any work in Roy; the top destination outside it is Tacoma (14%, 18 miles). 7% of workers work from home, against 20% across Washington.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Roy apart
Roy workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Roy is a place people come home to
There are 92 jobs based in Roy, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Roy has about 580 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 303 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Getting to work from Roy takes about 41 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Roy workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 283 commuters (the 7% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Roy
On a workday 302 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 91 people come in from elsewhere.
About 580 people are in Roy on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Roy commutes to
Where Roy clocks in
8% 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 Roy’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Roy, 2013 → 2023: 100 → 92. 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 Roy’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Roy works
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.
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 Roy: questions
What is the median household income in Roy?
$98,750 (±$17,735) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Roy?
7.1%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Roy?
41 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Roy work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (14%, 18 mi), Seattle (8%, 44 mi), Spanaway (8%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Roy without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Roy, from the people who make the trip.
More of Roy
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.