Photo: Michael Barratt · Public domainWestport has lower unemployment (1.7%) than 88% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Westport B−; getting around on foot earns it A+. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 94.7 in Seattle. Home is the office for 9% of workers, next to 20% for Washington as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Westport at work: what stands out
Westport is where the jobs are
Westport has 981 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
Commutes from Westport are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington 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 623 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Westport’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westport is better than 47% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Westport’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westport could be anywhere from C− to B+.
How many people are in Westport by day
On a workday 414 residents head out to work, 209 work right here, and 772 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Westport on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 in the region Westport works
About 41% 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.
The trip to work from Westport: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westport workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 807 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.
Who travels to work in Westport, and from where
Where Westport clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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.
Goods jobs make up 53% of work in Westport
981 jobs are based in Westport.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westport, 2014 → 2024: 963 → 981. 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 Westport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Westport is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westport is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Westport 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 889 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 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). 7.6% of Westport households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 23% of Westport’s commuters take a bus or train.
Westport is 2,328th of 4,995 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | Cathcart WA | 2,064 | $130K | 3.2% | 1.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Meadow Glade WA | 2,281 | $129K | 2.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,326 | Banks OR | 1,821 | $86K | 9.3% | 8.2% | 5% | B− |
| 2,327 | Martinsburg PA | 1,811 | $71K | 8.5% | 2.7% | 11% | B− |
| 2,328 | Westport WA | 2,372 | $65K | 7.3% | 1.7% | 34% | B− |
| 2,329 | Jackson Township OH | 2,549 | $81K | 6.5% | 9.4% | 1% | B− |
| 2,330 | McArthur Township OH | 1,935 | $74K | 8.2% | 0.6% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | 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 Westport, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Westport and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Cohassett Beach (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westport | – | B− | A+ | 14 min | $64,750 |
| Cohassett Beach | 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Cohassett Beach: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westport’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 Westport: questions
What is the median household income in Westport?
$64,750 (±$13,596) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westport?
7.3%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westport?
14 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westport work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aberdeen (7%, 16 mi), Seattle (5%, 97 mi), Cohassett Beach (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Westport walkable?
Westport is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 30% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westport without a car?
23% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westport
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.