Work & commute · Burlington

Work & commute in Burlington, WA

Most working residents leave Burlington for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Mount Vernon (14%), Seattle (6%) and Bellingham (6%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

562 of 4,345 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 3,783 Burlington residents head out of town to work, 562 work right here, and 7,812 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Burlington.

3,783live here, work elsewhere

562live and work here

7,812work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Burlington goes to work

Mount Vernon3.4 mi away

14%627

Burlington (in town)right here

13%562

Seattle58.4 mi away

6%279

Bellingham21 mi away

6%278

Sedro-Woolley5.6 mi away

4%181

Everett35.4 mi away

4%176

Anacortes13.5 mi away

3%134

Bellevue60.4 mi away

2%88

Arlington22.1 mi away

2%76

Kent74.4 mi away

1%55

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%1,889

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

How far

How far Burlington commutes

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

42%

17%

15%

26%

42%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Burlington is a job hub

1.93jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Burlington are

8,374 jobs are based in Burlington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Burlington

8,374 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities34%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Burlington residents hold

4,345 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+8%

Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 7,734 → 8,374. 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.