Building No. 105, Boeing Airplane Company · Photo: Benjamin Cody · Public domainTukwila has 4.0 jobs for every working resident: 39,855 people commute in to work
Only 7% work in Tukwila itself; outside it, Seattle draws the most (36%, 10 miles). Employers in Tukwila report 40,577 jobs; 10,072 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Tukwila are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Tukwila in brief
Tukwila fills up on a workday
Tukwila has 40,577 jobs, 4.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 53,000 people are in town, more than double the 22,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Much of Tukwila works one town over
60% of working residents work in a town that borders Tukwila: Seattle (36%), SeaTac (9%) and Renton (7%). Next door ↓
Most jobs in Tukwila pay over $40,000 a year
76% of the jobs based in Tukwila pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Tukwila draws workers from far and wide
The 40,577 jobs in Tukwila are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 43%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Why Tukwila gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tukwila is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #186 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Tukwila’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tukwila could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Tukwila on a workday afternoon
On a workday 9,350 residents head out to work and 722 work right here.
About 53,000 people are in Tukwila on a workday afternoon, 139% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
76% of the jobs in Tukwila pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tukwila, 2014 → 2024: 43,042 → 40,577. 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 Tukwila’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that send workers to Tukwila
Where Tukwila clocks in
36% 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.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Tukwila
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tukwila workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,984 commuters (the 13% 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.
Tukwila’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Tukwila is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,446 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, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 31.1 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). 7.3% of Tukwila households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Tukwila’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,189th of 1,847: where Tukwila ranks among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Mercer Island WA | 25,422 | $219K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 214 | Cottage Lake WA | 22,518 | $213K | 3.2% | 4.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,187 | Orange City FL | 15,309 | $58K | 10.4% | 3.6% | 9% | B− |
| 1,188 | Punta Gorda FL | 20,383 | $86K | 8.3% | 5.0% | 13% | B− |
| 1,189 | Tukwila WA | 22,003 | $78K | 13.0% | 6.4% | 7% | B− |
| 1,190 | North Plainfield NJ | 22,879 | $87K | 13.2% | 8.8% | 4% | B− |
| 1,191 | Ladson SC | 16,140 | $79K | 12.3% | 5.3% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Tukwila, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
60% of Tukwila works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tukwila workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tukwila | – | B− | A | 25 min | $78,381 |
| SeaTac | 9% | B | A+ | 25 min | $81,104 |
| Kent | 6% | B | A | 30 min | $92,302 |
| Burien | 2% | B | A+ | 27 min | $91,318 |
| Seattle | 36% | A− | A+ | 26 min | $123,860 |
| Boulevard Park | under 2% | B− | A | 24 min | $78,954 |
| Bryn Mawr-Skyway | under 2% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $90,969 |
| Renton | 7% | A− | A | 30 min | $100,432 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Seattle. Darker towns draw more of Tukwila’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 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 Tukwila: questions
What is the median household income in Tukwila?
$78,381 (±$7,350) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tukwila?
13.0%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tukwila?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tukwila work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (36%, 10 mi), SeaTac (9%, 2 mi), Renton (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Tukwila walkable?
Tukwila is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.9 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tukwila without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 28% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tukwila, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tukwila
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.