Work & commute · Centralia

Work & commute in Centralia, WA

Most working residents leave Centralia for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Chehalis (10%), Olympia (7%) and Seattle (5%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

1,350 of 8,503 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 7,153 Centralia residents head out of town to work, 1,350 work right here, and 6,082 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Centralia.

7,153live here, work elsewhere

1,350live and work here

6,082work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Centralia goes to work

Centralia (in town)right here

16%1,350

Chehalis4.3 mi away

10%826

Olympia22.1 mi away

7%615

Seattle68.4 mi away

5%457

Tumwater18.4 mi away

5%404

Tacoma43.8 mi away

3%288

Lacey23.5 mi away

3%284

Fords Prairie2.1 mi away

2%180

Bellevue71.4 mi away

2%138

Grand Mound5.5 mi away

1%125

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%3,836

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

How far

How far Centralia commutes

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

35%

21%

15%

29%

35%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Centralia is balanced between jobs and homes

0.87jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Centralia are

7,432 jobs are based in Centralia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Centralia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Centralia

7,432 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Centralia residents hold

8,503 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+19%

Jobs based in Centralia, 2013 → 2023: 6,258 → 7,432. 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.