Eau Claire draws more than half of Washington’s working residents
Washington grades A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns. Only 3% work in Washington; the top destination outside it is Eau Claire (51%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Washington apart on work
Young people hold many of the jobs here
39% of the jobs based in Washington are held by workers 29 or younger, against 25% of Washington’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Most Washington residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Washington
62% of Washington residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Washington pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Washington are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
How Washington earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Washington is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #76 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Washington could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The kinds of work in Washington
1,831 jobs are based in Washington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 1,381 → 1,831. 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 Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Washington
About 18% 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.
How a workday changes Washington
On a workday 3,034 residents head out to work, 78 work right here, and 1,753 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.59 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Washington goes to work
Where Washington clocks in
6% 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.
Washington’s commute takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,502 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
For most of Washington, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Washington is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns, #215 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,081 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). 4.1% of Washington households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Washington next to U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,100: 294th of 3,125 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 292 | Camp Hill PA | 8,199 | $116K | 6.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A |
| 293 | Seward Township IL | 6,806 | $122K | 7.6% | 1.6% | 1% | A |
| 294 | Washington WI | 7,478 | $110K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 3% | A |
| 295 | Fort Wright KY | 6,240 | $105K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 4% | A |
| 296 | Tea SD | 8,019 | $120K | 4.7% | 2.0% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,125 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Washington, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Washington and its neighbors: 57% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | – | A | C+ | 18 min | $109,984 |
| Eau Claire | 51% | B− | A− | 17 min | $67,395 |
| Altoona | 6% | B | B+ | 18 min | $84,552 |
| Seymour | under 1% | A | C | 19 min | $107,436 |
| Lincoln | under 1% | B+ | B | 24 min | $111,111 |
| Pleasant Valley | under 1% | A+ | C− | 17 min | $139,659 |
| Brunswick | under 1% | A− | C | 23 min | $92,426 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Eau Claire. Darker towns draw more of Washington’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 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 Washington: questions
What is the median household income in Washington?
$109,984 (±$14,835) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
2.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
18 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
3% work in town.
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Washington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washington
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.