Work & commute · Kalama

Work & commute in Kalama, WA

Most working residents leave Kalama for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Longview (13%), Vancouver (13%) and Portland (8%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

96 of 1,336 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 1,240 Kalama residents head out of town to work, 96 work right here, and 1,409 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kalama.

1,240live here, work elsewhere

96live and work here

1,409work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kalama goes to work

Longview10.6 mi away

13%174

Vancouver28.8 mi away

13%169

Portland, OR34.4 mi away

8%101

Kalama (in town)right here

7%96

Woodland8 mi away

5%61

Kelso7.2 mi away

4%56

Seattle113.1 mi away

4%48

Tacoma87.2 mi away

2%21

Olympia70.8 mi away

1%19

Ridgefield16 mi away

1%16

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%575

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

How far

How far Kalama commutes

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

26%

17%

30%

27%

26%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

30%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kalama is balanced between jobs and homes

1.13jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Kalama are

1,505 jobs are based in Kalama. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kalama’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kalama

1,505 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)54%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)35%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month75%

Jobs Kalama residents hold

1,336 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+53%

Jobs based in Kalama, 2013 → 2023: 985 → 1,505. 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.