Work & commute · Washington

Work & commute in Washington, MO

Most working residents leave Washington for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Nevada (36%), Springfield (6%) and Joplin (5%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

48 of 943 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 895 Washington residents head out of town to work, 48 work right here, and 578 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Washington.

895live here, work elsewhere

48live and work here

578work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Washington goes to work

Nevada3.7 mi away

36%337

Springfield75.3 mi away

6%55

Joplin57.5 mi away

5%43

Fort Scott, KS20.3 mi away

4%42

Kansas City85.5 mi away

3%32

El Dorado Springs17.7 mi away

3%24

Butler25 mi away

2%18

Center6.3 mi away

1%13

Lamar28.2 mi away

1%11

Carthage51.9 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%359

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Washington commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

41%

11%

41%

41%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

41%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Washington is a commuter town

0.66jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.66 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Washington are

626 jobs are based in Washington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Washington

626 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Washington residents hold

943 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month48%

−24%

Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 827 → 626. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.