Work & commute · Arlington

Work & commute in Arlington, WA

Most working residents leave Arlington for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Everett (17%), Seattle (11%) and Marysville (7%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

1,339 of 9,755 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,416 Arlington residents head out of town to work, 1,339 work right here, and 9,480 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Arlington.

8,416live here, work elsewhere

1,339live and work here

9,480work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Arlington goes to work

Everett14.6 mi away

17%1,683

Arlington (in town)right here

14%1,339

Seattle39.3 mi away

11%1,027

Marysville6.2 mi away

7%670

Bellevue39.6 mi away

3%291

Mount Vernon18.7 mi away

2%199

Renton47.8 mi away

2%178

Lynnwood24.7 mi away

2%172

Redmond34.1 mi away

2%155

Kirkland32.8 mi away

1%136

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%3,905

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

How far

How far Arlington commutes

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

27%

33%

29%

11%

27%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

29%25–50 mi

11%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Arlington is balanced between jobs and homes

1.11jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Arlington are

10,819 jobs are based in Arlington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Arlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Arlington

10,819 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)37%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)38%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Arlington residents hold

9,755 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month70%

+45%

Jobs based in Arlington, 2013 → 2023: 7,482 → 10,819. 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.