Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0At 5.7%, unemployment in Spokane is higher than in 71% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 9.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 6.4 in Spokane Valley. The two grades for Spokane are C+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. More than half stay in Spokane for work; outside it, Spokane Valley is the main destination (15%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Spokane
Spokane and Spokane Valley trade workers both ways
Spokane Valley is the top workplace for Spokane residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Spokane come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Spokane are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Inside Spokane’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Spokane is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #212 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Spokane’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Spokane could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
Commuting out of Spokane: the destinations
Where Spokane clocks in
15% of workers
3% 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.
From Spokane, about 21 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spokane workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 93,172 commuters (the 15% 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.
Spokane fills up on a workday
On a workday 45,682 residents head out to work, 49,574 work right here, and 72,774 people come in from elsewhere.
About 258,000 people are in Spokane on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
65% of the jobs in Spokane pay over $3,333 a month
122,348 jobs are based in Spokane.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spokane, 2013 → 2023: 110,880 → 122,348. 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 Spokane’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Spokane
About 16% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Spokane is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Spokane is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #25 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Spokane 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 109,589 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 46% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 9.5% of Spokane households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Spokane’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 162,000 to 312,000, Spokane ranks 72nd of 105 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Vancouver WA | 199,698 | $81K | 10.2% | 5.7% | 35% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Tacoma WA | 229,816 | $86K | 12.4% | 5.6% | 28% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Salem OR | 181,779 | $75K | 14.4% | 5.8% | 49% | C+ |
| 71 | Norfolk VA | 231,013 | $66K | 16.5% | 5.7% | 36% | C+ |
| 72 | Spokane WA | 230,783 | $70K | 13.8% | 5.7% | 52% | C+ |
| 73 | Newport News VA | 183,230 | $70K | 14.5% | 5.8% | 40% | C+ |
| 74 | Greensboro NC | 308,667 | $62K | 17.0% | 5.1% | 49% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Shreveport LA | 175,902 | $49K | 23.5% | 9.0% | 61% | 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 Spokane, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Spokane and its neighbors: 18% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spokane workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spokane | – | C+ | A+ | 21 min | $70,064 |
| Airway Heights | 2% | C− | A | 22 min | $62,874 |
| Town and Country | under 1% | B | A | 23 min | $92,652 |
| Country Homes | 1% | C+ | A+ | 19 min | $84,653 |
| Spokane Valley | 15% | B− | A− | 21 min | $74,042 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Spokane Valley. Darker towns draw more of Spokane’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 Spokane: questions
What is the median household income in Spokane?
$70,064 (±$1,594) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spokane?
13.8%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spokane?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spokane work?
52% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spokane Valley (15%, 9 mi), Seattle (3%, 229 mi), Airway Heights (2%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Spokane walkable?
Spokane is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.7 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Spokane without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 46% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spokane, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spokane
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.