Tenino Downtown Historic District · Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Tenino (5.3%) is higher than in 65% of U.S. towns
Only 4% stay in Tenino for work; outside it, Olympia is the main destination (18%, 13 miles). For jobs and income Tenino is better than 39% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (A−). The average commute takes 33 minutes each way, next to 27 for Washington and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Tenino
Tenino has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Tenino went from 379 in 2014 to 580 in 2024, +53%. The jobs ↓
Tenino workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 739 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Tenino
Household income holds Tenino’s grade up ($82,639, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tenino could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The 580 jobs based in Tenino
580 jobs are based in Tenino.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tenino, 2014 → 2024: 379 → 580. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Tenino’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Tenino, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tenino workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 772 commuters (the 20% 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 daily commute in and out of Tenino
On a workday 709 residents head out to work, 30 work right here, and 550 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from Tenino work
Where Tenino clocks in
18% of workers
10% of workers
6% 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.
Miles to work from Tenino
About 21% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Good to walk, short on transit: Tenino
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 970 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.6% of Tenino households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Tenino’s commuters take a bus or train.
Tenino places 2,689th of 5,234 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Fife Heights WA | 1,446 | $157K | 2.4% | 4.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | Monroe North WA | 1,456 | $170K | 0.8% | 3.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 103 | Cathcart WA | 2,064 | $130K | 3.2% | 1.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,687 | Odem TX | 2,291 | $69K | 11.5% | 5.9% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,688 | Holliday TX | 1,733 | $63K | 8.7% | 5.5% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,689 | Tenino WA | 1,941 | $83K | 11.6% | 5.3% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,690 | Etna Township IN | 1,504 | $59K | 8.9% | 0.0% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,691 | Lower Mahanoy Township PA | 1,603 | $70K | 5.9% | 0.4% | 9% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Tenino, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Tenino: questions
What is the median household income in Tenino?
$82,639 (±$11,878) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tenino?
11.6%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tenino?
33 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tenino work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Olympia (18%, 13 mi), Tumwater (10%, 10 mi), Lacey (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Tenino walkable?
Tenino is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tenino without a car?
1% 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 Tenino, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tenino
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.