Summit has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
There are 1,056 jobs in Summit for 3,702 working residents. Jobs and income earn Summit B+; getting around on foot earns it B. Household incomes here are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Summit in brief
The quickest commute around
Summit’s 26-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 31 to 33 minutes. Next door ↓
Summit and Tacoma trade workers both ways
Tacoma is the top workplace for Summit residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Summit come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Summit is a place people come home to
There are 1,056 jobs based in Summit, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Summit has about 6,100 people in it, 30% 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.
Why Summit gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Summit is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #130 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Summit’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (7.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Summit could be anywhere from B− to A.
18% of working residents work in Tacoma
Where Summit clocks in
11% of workers
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Summit
On a workday 3,662 residents head out to work, 40 work right here, and 1,016 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,100 people are in Summit on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
What Summit’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Summit, 2013 → 2023: 1,146 → 1,056. 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 Summit’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Summit: about 26 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Summit workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,798 commuters (the 9% 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 many miles Summit commutes
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.
Few in Summit walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Summit is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #191 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Summit 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 4,158 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 13% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 2.3% of Summit households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Summit’s commuters take a bus or train.
Summit places 1,242nd of 2,878 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 6,200 to 11,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 220 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,240 | Union Township OH | 9,918 | $69K | 9.0% | 2.4% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,241 | Robinwood MD | 8,042 | $91K | 11.3% | 3.1% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,242 | Summit WA | 8,791 | $107K | 7.4% | 7.5% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,243 | Airmont NY | 10,634 | $95K | 12.5% | 5.1% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,244 | Argentine Township MI | 7,021 | $99K | 4.8% | 5.5% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Summit, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Work in the towns next to Summit
The biggest share goes to Puyallup (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Summit workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit | – | B+ | B | 26 min | $106,736 |
| Puyallup | 8% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $97,826 |
| Midland | under 3% | B | A− | 33 min | $84,700 |
| Clover Creek | under 3% | B− | B+ | 33 min | $95,061 |
| Waller | under 3% | A− | B− | 32 min | $101,490 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Summit’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 Summit: questions
What is the median household income in Summit?
$106,736 (±$19,079) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Summit?
7.4%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Summit?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Summit work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (18%, 7 mi), Seattle (11%, 31 mi), Puyallup (8%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Summit walkable?
Summit is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Summit without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Summit, from the people who make the trip.
More of Summit
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.