Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Washington commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
There are 301 jobs in Washington; 643 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Washington are C for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 6% stay in Washington for work; outside it, Eagle River is the main destination (21%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Washington: the figures worth knowing
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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 ↓
Washington’s workforce skews older
38% of Washington’s working residents are 55 or older. 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 643 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Washington gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Washington is better than 31% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Washington’s grade up ($85,379, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (1.3%) is left out: Washington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Washington could be anywhere from D to B−.
The commute from Washington, by distance
About 35% 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.
Jobs in Washington: what the 301 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 169 → 301. 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Washington
On a workday 606 residents head out to work, 37 work right here, and 264 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 21% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Washington’s residents
Where Washington clocks in
21% 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.
A commute of about 20 minutes in Washington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 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 681 commuters (the 7% 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.
Most trips from Washington start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Washington is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 5.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 731 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). 1.2% of Washington households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 6,161 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200, Washington comes 3,536th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,534 | Clinton Township PA | 2,071 | $68K | 9.6% | 4.4% | 2% | C |
| 3,535 | Ridgebury Township PA | 1,886 | $67K | 11.0% | 7.6% | 2% | C |
| 3,536 | Washington WI | 1,640 | $85K | 10.7% | 1.3% | 6% | C |
| 3,537 | Brookside AL | 1,433 | $59K | 26.5% | 3.9% | <1% | C |
| 3,538 | Kittitas WA | 1,440 | $80K | 11.5% | 6.3% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Washington, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
14% of Washington works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Phelps (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | – | C | B− | 20 min | $85,379 |
| Lincoln | 6% | B− | A− | 21 min | $77,500 |
| Three Lakes | 1% | C− | D | 25 min | $70,250 |
| Phelps | 7% | C | B− | 20 min | $71,250 |
| Hiles | under 2% | — | — | 43 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Hiles: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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?
$85,379 (±$14,680) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
10.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
20 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eagle River (21%, 6 mi), Phelps (7%, 8 mi), Lincoln (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% 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.