Work & commute · Benton

Work & commute in Benton, WA

Most working residents leave Benton for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Richland (25%), Kennewick (12%) and Pasco (9%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

85 of 1,379 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 1,294 Benton residents head out of town to work, 85 work right here, and 502 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Benton.

1,294live here, work elsewhere

85live and work here

502work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Benton goes to work

Richland8.9 mi away

25%349

Kennewick15.1 mi away

12%171

Pasco17 mi away

9%124

Benton City (in town)right here

6%85

Prosser14.3 mi away

2%30

Seattle164.9 mi away

2%30

Yakima55.9 mi away

2%23

West Richland5.6 mi away

1%18

Spokane136.8 mi away

1%18

Sunnyside25.5 mi away

1%13

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%518

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

How far

How far Benton commutes

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

23%

48%

24%

23%Under 10 mi

48%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Benton is a commuter town

0.43jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Benton are

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

Jobs based in Benton

587 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)38%

Trade, transport & utilities5%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Benton residents hold

1,379 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+42%

Jobs based in Benton, 2013 → 2023: 414 → 587. 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.