Work & commute · Ellensburg

Work & commute in Ellensburg, WA

41% of Ellensburg’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Seattle (5%), Yakima (5%) and Cle Elum (3%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41%

3,346 of 8,163 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,817 Ellensburg residents head out of town to work, 3,346 work right here, and 5,522 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ellensburg.

4,817live here, work elsewhere

3,346live and work here

5,522work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ellensburg goes to work

Ellensburg (in town)right here

41%3,346

Seattle94.6 mi away

5%448

Yakima28.3 mi away

5%421

Cle Elum23.2 mi away

3%231

Bellevue85.9 mi away

2%124

Wenatchee31.8 mi away

1%104

Kent82.6 mi away

1%77

Roslyn33.5 mi away

1%71

Spokane153 mi away

1%70

Moses Lake60.6 mi away

1%66

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%3,205

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

How far

How far Ellensburg commutes

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

48%

14%

32%

48%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ellensburg is balanced between jobs and homes

1.09jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ellensburg are

8,868 jobs are based in Ellensburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ellensburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ellensburg

8,868 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Ellensburg residents hold

8,163 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+20%

Jobs based in Ellensburg, 2013 → 2023: 7,393 → 8,868. 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.