Photo: Jared Adams · CC BY 3.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Washougal works elsewhere
Household incomes here are higher than in 81% of U.S. towns. 3,302 jobs are based in Washougal; 7,772 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Washougal 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 work figures that set Washougal apart
A lot of Washougal workers cross into Oregon
20% of Washougal workers work outside Washington, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Portland (15%), Gresham (2%) and Hillsboro (1%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Washougal and Vancouver trade workers both ways
Vancouver is the top workplace for Washougal residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Washougal come from (18% of its jobs). 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.
Inside Washougal’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Washougal is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #190 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Washougal’s grade up ($106,368, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Washougal could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
25% of working residents work in Vancouver
Where Washougal clocks in
25% of workers
9% 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 daily commute in and out of Washougal
On a workday 7,116 residents head out to work, 656 work right here, and 2,646 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Washougal on a workday afternoon, 25% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Goods jobs make up 29% of work in Washougal
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washougal, 2014 → 2024: 2,780 → 3,302. 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 Washougal’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Washougal spends getting to work: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washougal workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,810 commuters (the 23% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Washougal
About 19% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Washougal
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Washougal is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #154 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,790 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 59% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 4.1% of Washougal households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Washougal’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000, Washougal ranks 1,159th of 1,822 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,157 | Melrose Park IL | 23,936 | $66K | 12.3% | 5.7% | 10% | B− |
| 1,158 | Plainfield CT | 15,381 | $77K | 8.7% | 4.4% | 15% | B− |
| 1,159 | Washougal WA | 18,028 | $106K | 11.2% | 7.7% | 8% | B− |
| 1,160 | Saugerties NY | 19,393 | $78K | 9.8% | 3.6% | 23% | B− |
| 1,161 | Parma Heights OH | 20,327 | $61K | 13.9% | 4.1% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | 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 Washougal, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
How Washougal compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Camas (9%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Washougal’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 Washougal: questions
What is the median household income in Washougal?
$106,368 (±$8,746) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washougal?
11.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washougal?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washougal work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Vancouver (25%, 13 mi), Portland (15%, 15 mi), Camas (9%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Washougal walkable?
Washougal is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washougal without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Washougal, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washougal
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.