Work & commute · Oregon

Work & commute in Oregon, OR

Most working residents leave Oregon for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Portland (28%), Tigard (4%) and Tualatin (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

2,266 of 17,450 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 15,184 Oregon residents head out of town to work, 2,266 work right here, and 13,548 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oregon.

15,184live here, work elsewhere

2,266live and work here

13,548work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oregon goes to work

Portland13.8 mi away

28%4,915

Oregon City (in town)right here

13%2,266

Tigard10.9 mi away

4%712

Tualatin9.2 mi away

3%593

Beaverton14.4 mi away

3%581

Lake Oswego7.2 mi away

3%503

Wilsonville8.9 mi away

3%463

Milwaukie7.3 mi away

3%446

Hillsboro20.8 mi away

2%409

Salem35.7 mi away

2%391

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%6,171

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

How far

How far Oregon commutes

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

45%

46%

45%Under 10 mi

46%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oregon is balanced between jobs and homes

0.91jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Oregon are

15,814 jobs are based in Oregon. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oregon’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Oregon

15,814 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Oregon residents hold

17,450 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+26%

Jobs based in Oregon, 2013 → 2023: 12,528 → 15,814. 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.