Douglas County Courthouse · Photo: Williamborg 02:04, 16 June 2008 (UTC) · Public domainWork and commuting in Waterville
About one in seven work in Waterville; the top destination outside it is Wenatchee (21%, 19 miles). The two grades for Waterville are C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Waterville apart
Waterville and Wenatchee trade workers both ways
Wenatchee is the top workplace for Waterville residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Waterville come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Waterville than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Waterville fell from 538 in 2013 to 378 in 2023, −30%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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; with 415 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Waterville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Waterville is better than 34% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Waterville’s grade up (7.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (2.9%) is left out: Waterville’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Waterville could be anywhere from C− to B.
The places Waterville commutes to
Where Waterville clocks in
21% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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 distance from Waterville to work
About 33% 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.
69% of the jobs in Waterville pay over $3,333 a month
378 jobs are based in Waterville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waterville, 2013 → 2023: 538 → 378. 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 Waterville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waterville by day and by night
On a workday 360 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 323 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 (0.91 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.
Each way, about 33 minutes from Waterville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waterville workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 576 commuters (the 14% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Waterville
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waterville is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 670 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 99% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 2.8% of Waterville households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Waterville’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,190th of 4,312: where Waterville ranks among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Yarrow Point WA | 1,143 | $250K | 4.5% | 2.2% | 0% | A+ |
| 20 | Woodway WA | 1,316 | $205K | 2.1% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Fife Heights WA | 1,446 | $157K | 2.4% | 4.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,188 | Whitehorn Cove OK | 1,223 | $68K | 7.0% | 1.1% | 1% | C |
| 2,189 | Pilot Rock OR | 1,320 | $89K | 10.1% | 6.5% | 10% | C |
| 2,190 | Waterville WA | 1,156 | $79K | 7.8% | 2.9% | 13% | C |
| 2,191 | Huston Township PA | 1,306 | $81K | 11.2% | 4.0% | 1% | C |
| 2,192 | Lillian AL | 1,460 | $52K | 0.6% | 0.0% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Waterville, 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 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 Waterville: questions
What is the median household income in Waterville?
$78,589 (±$8,628) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waterville?
7.8%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waterville?
33 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waterville work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wenatchee (21%, 19 mi), East Wenatchee (6%, 19 mi), Seattle (4%, 106 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waterville walkable?
Waterville is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 15.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waterville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 99% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waterville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waterville
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.