Photo: LilGangstaBoy at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0White Salmon has lower unemployment (1.8%) than 87% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 26% of workers (Washington 20%). Jobs and income earn White Salmon B; getting around on foot earns it A. About one in seven work in White Salmon itself; outside it, Hood River draws the most (10%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in White Salmon
A big share show a job far from home
48% 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 ↓
A lot of White Salmon workers cross into Oregon
31% of White Salmon workers work outside Washington, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Hood River (10%), Portland (7%) and The Dalles (3%) are among the top workplaces. 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; with 915 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why White Salmon gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, White Salmon is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #145 of 285 in Washington. The poverty rate holds White Salmon’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, White Salmon could be anywhere from C to A−.
Miles to work from White Salmon
About 48% 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.
Where the trip to work from White Salmon ends
Where White Salmon clocks in
10% 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.
White Salmon on a workday afternoon
On a workday 782 residents head out to work, 133 work right here, and 961 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 (1.20 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.
Inside White Salmon’s 1,094 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in White Salmon, 2014 → 2024: 983 → 1,094. 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 White Salmon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from White Salmon
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of White Salmon workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 817 commuters (the 26% 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: White Salmon
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, White Salmon is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #90 of 285 in Washington. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.9% across Washington, on an EPA index of 8.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,108 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.8% of White Salmon households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of White Salmon’s commuters take a bus or train.
White Salmon places 1,504th of 4,797 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 100 | Cathcart WA | 2,064 | $130K | 3.2% | 1.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,502 | Dellona WI | 1,912 | $103K | 8.9% | 2.9% | 1% | B |
| 1,503 | Hull IA | 2,457 | $72K | 5.5% | 2.3% | 14% | B |
| 1,504 | White Salmon WA | 2,655 | $73K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 15% | B |
| 1,505 | Marysville Township MN | 2,083 | $98K | 16.8% | 2.4% | 1% | B |
| 1,506 | New Jasper Township OH | 2,710 | $107K | 3.7% | 8.6% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 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 White Salmon, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
White Salmon and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Bingen (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | White Salmon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Salmon | – | B | A | 27 min | $72,923 |
| Bingen | 6% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bingen: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of White Salmon’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 White Salmon: questions
What is the median household income in White Salmon?
$72,923 (±$11,749) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in White Salmon?
3.5%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from White Salmon?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in White Salmon work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hood River (10%, 2 mi), Portland (7%, 58 mi), Bingen (6%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is White Salmon walkable?
White Salmon is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around White Salmon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from White Salmon, from the people who make the trip.
More of White Salmon
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.