Work & commute · Federal Way

Work & commute in Federal Way, WA

Most working residents leave Federal Way for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Seattle (21%), Tacoma (7%) and Kent (7%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

4,369 of 42,528 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 38,159 Federal Way residents head out of town to work, 4,369 work right here, and 25,521 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Federal Way.

38,159live here, work elsewhere

4,369live and work here

25,521work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Federal Way goes to work

Seattle21.3 mi away

21%8,995

Federal Way (in town)right here

10%4,369

Tacoma7 mi away

7%3,170

Kent7.9 mi away

7%3,121

SeaTac9.3 mi away

6%2,618

Renton13.4 mi away

5%2,026

Auburn6 mi away

5%2,011

Tukwila11.7 mi away

4%1,668

Bellevue21.5 mi away

4%1,567

Puyallup9.4 mi away

2%712

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%12,271

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

How far

How far Federal Way commutes

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

41%

44%

10%

41%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Federal Way is a commuter town

0.70jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Federal Way are

29,890 jobs are based in Federal Way. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Federal Way’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Federal Way

29,890 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Federal Way residents hold

42,528 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+5%

Jobs based in Federal Way, 2013 → 2023: 28,344 → 29,890. 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.