Work & commute · La Grande

Work & commute in La Grande, OR

50% of La Grande’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Island City (4%), Pendleton (3%) and Portland (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

50%

2,742 of 5,484 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,742 La Grande residents head out of town to work, 2,742 work right here, and 3,430 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in La Grande.

2,742live here, work elsewhere

2,742live and work here

3,430work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where La Grande goes to work

La Grande (in town)right here

50%2,742

Island City1.9 mi away

4%202

Pendleton43.1 mi away

3%184

Portland221.8 mi away

3%174

Baker City39.9 mi away

2%111

Hermiston67.8 mi away

1%74

Enterprise39.8 mi away

1%51

Union13.2 mi away

1%48

Salem242.2 mi away

1%44

Mission36.4 mi away

1%40

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%1,814

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

How far

How far La Grande commutes

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

65%

22%

65%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

La Grande is balanced between jobs and homes

1.13jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in La Grande are

6,172 jobs are based in La Grande. Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Grande’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in La Grande

6,172 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs La Grande residents hold

5,484 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+7%

Jobs based in La Grande, 2013 → 2023: 5,784 → 6,172. 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.