Photo: Jeffery Hayes · CC BY-SA 3.0Seattle’s household incomes are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 35% of workers, next to 20% for Washington as a whole. Seattle grades A− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. More than half work in Seattle itself; outside it, Bellevue draws the most (8%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Seattle apart
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
81% of Seattle’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 82% of the jobs based in Seattle. The jobs ↓
A lot of Seattle works from home
35% of Seattle workers work from home, against 20% across Washington. Time on the road ↓
Seattle is where the jobs are
Seattle has 613,163 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Seattle
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Seattle is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #74 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Seattle’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Seattle stays A−.
82% of the jobs in Seattle pay over $3,333 a month
613,163 jobs are based in Seattle.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seattle, 2013 → 2023: 469,568 → 613,163. 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 Seattle’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way for Seattle’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seattle workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 298,859 commuters (the 35% 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.
How a workday changes Seattle
On a workday 148,353 residents head out to work, 219,909 work right here, and 393,254 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,030,000 people are in Seattle on a workday afternoon, 31% more than live here.
1.7 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.
Who travels to work in Seattle, and from where
Where Seattle clocks in
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.
How far it is to work from Seattle
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.
Seattle is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Seattle is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #1 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Seattle 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 458,144 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, 82% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 94.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 19.0% of Seattle households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 18% of Seattle’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Seattle places 3rd of 25 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 549,000 to 1,059,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead NY | 795,734 | $141K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 28% | A |
| 2 | San Jose CA | 989,814 | $146K | 8.1% | 5.1% | 36% | A− |
| 3 | Seattle WA | 784,777 | $124K | 9.9% | 4.6% | 60% | A− |
| 4 | San Francisco CA | 826,079 | $141K | 11.2% | 6.1% | 57% | B+ |
| 5 | Denver CO | 740,613 | $95K | 11.2% | 4.9% | 45% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Detroit MI | 649,095 | $40K | 32.7% | 14.0% | 31% | C− |
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 Seattle, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
How Seattle compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Kirkland (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Seattle workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | – | A− | A+ | 26 min | $123,860 |
| Bainbridge Island | under 2% | A− | A+ | 37 min | $172,188 |
| Mercer Island | under 2% | A+ | A | 24 min | $219,069 |
| Tukwila | 1% | B− | A | 25 min | $78,381 |
| Kirkland | 2% | A | A+ | 24 min | $150,414 |
| Boulevard Park | under 2% | B− | A | 24 min | $78,954 |
| White Center | under 2% | B | A+ | 30 min | $87,189 |
| Bryn Mawr-Skyway | under 2% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $90,969 |
| Medina | under 2% | A+ | A | 21 min | $250,000+ |
| Burien | under 2% | B | A+ | 27 min | $91,318 |
| Vashon | under 2% | C | A− | 34 min | $120,571 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Seattle’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 Seattle: questions
What is the median household income in Seattle?
$123,860 (±$2,244) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seattle?
9.9%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seattle?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Seattle work?
60% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bellevue (8%, 9 mi), Redmond (6%, 12 mi), Kirkland (2%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Seattle walkable?
Seattle is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.9 out of 20, and 35% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Seattle without a car?
18% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 82% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Seattle, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seattle
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.