Work & commute · Athena

Work & commute in Athena, OR

Most working residents leave Athena for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Pendleton (19%), Walla Walla (13%) and Milton-Freewater (4%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26 of 443 working residents

Typical commute

19 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 417 Athena residents head out of town to work, 26 work right here, and 174 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Athena.

417live here, work elsewhere

26live and work here

174work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Athena goes to work

Pendleton18.4 mi away

19%85

Walla Walla, WA19.1 mi away

13%56

Athena (in town)right here

6%26

Milton-Freewater9.7 mi away

4%19

Mission13.6 mi away

4%19

Portland201.6 mi away

4%17

College Place, WA16.5 mi away

3%12

Weston3.2 mi away

2%11

La Grande39.1 mi away

2%9

Hermiston38.1 mi away

2%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%180

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

How far

How far Athena commutes

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

17%

51%

11%

21%

17%Under 10 mi

51%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Athena is a commuter town

0.45jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Athena are

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

Jobs based in Athena

200 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Athena residents hold

443 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+7%

Jobs based in Athena, 2013 → 2023: 187 → 200. 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.