Work & commute · Union

Work & commute in Union, OR

Most working residents leave Union for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are La Grande (27%), Baker City (5%) and Portland (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

56 of 701 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 645 Union residents head out of town to work, 56 work right here, and 155 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Union.

645live here, work elsewhere

56live and work here

155work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Union goes to work

La Grande13.2 mi away

27%190

Union (in town)right here

8%56

Baker City30 mi away

5%38

Portland233.2 mi away

4%27

Island City12.4 mi away

3%23

Pendleton56.3 mi away

3%20

North Powder12.6 mi away

2%14

Hermiston81 mi away

1%8

Walla Walla, WA63.5 mi away

1%8

Salem252.3 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%310

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

How far

How far Union commutes

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

17%

46%

30%

17%Under 10 mi

46%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Union is a commuter town

0.30jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Union are

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

Jobs based in Union

211 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less31%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month40%

Jobs Union residents hold

701 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+32%

Jobs based in Union, 2013 → 2023: 160 → 211. 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.