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Work & commute in Manchester · A commuter town

98% of Manchester’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Manchester for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Seattle (16%), Port Orchard (9%) and Bremerton (8%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Work in town
2%
33 of 1,847 working residents
Typical commute
12 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
34 min
More than WA (27 min)
Work from home
16%
Less than WA (20%)
Jobs based here
244
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Manchester?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

16% of working residents work in Seattle

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Gig Harbor: 68 residents work here (4%)LynnwoodPort Orchard: 158 residents work here (9%)Tukwila: 37 residents work here (2%)Renton: 41 residents work here (2%)Bellevue: 49 residents work here (3%)Bainbridge IslandBremerton: 152 residents work here (8%)SpokaneSeattle: 298 residents work here (16%)Tacoma: 80 residents work here (4%)East Port Orchard: 97 residents work here (5%)ParkwoodManchesterBethelSouthworthSilverdale: 85 residents work here (5%)VashonSeattlePort OrchardBremertonEast Port OrchardSilverdaleTacomaManchester
1
Seattle10.1 mi away
16%298
2
Port Orchard4.3 mi away
9%158
3
Bremerton8.2 mi away
8%152
45%97
5
Silverdale10.6 mi away
5%85
6
Tacoma20.7 mi away
4%80
7
Gig Harbor14.8 mi away
4%68
8
Bellevue18.2 mi away
3%49
9
Renton16.8 mi away
2%41
10
Tukwila13.3 mi away
2%37
Everywhere elseother towns and states
42%782
The top trips

Where Manchester clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 34 minutes each way, longer than most of Washington

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
258 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Manchester34 min
Washington27 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
16%

of Manchester workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10

How Manchester ranks on commute time →

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in ManchesterJobs Manchester residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms16%13%
Trade, transport & utilities5%21%
Services: health, schools, offices80%67%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less14%10%
$1,251–$3,333 a month11%20%
Over $3,333 a month74%70%

Who does it

29 or younger17%19%
30 to 5455%55%
55 and older29%26%
+3%

Jobs based in Manchester, 2013 → 2023: 236 → 244. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Day and night

Manchester quiets down on a workday

On a workday 1,814 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 211 people come in from elsewhere.

1,814live here, work elsewhere
33live and work here
211work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night6,000
Workday4,400
6,000live here− 1,800head out to work+ 210come in to work= 4,400on a workday

About 4,400 people are in Manchester on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.13jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Manchester commutes less than 12 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi30 miSeattle: 16% · 10.1 miPort Orchard: 9% · 4.3 miBremerton: 8% · 8.2 miEast Port Orchard: 5% · 4.1 miSilverdale: 5% · 10.6 miTacoma: 4% · 20.7 miGig Harbor: 4% · 14.8 miBellevue: 3% · 18.2 miRenton: 2% · 16.8 miTukwila: 2% · 13.3 miSeattle 16%Port Orchard 9%Bremerton 8%East Port Orchard 5%Silverdale 5%Manchester
ManchesterTop destinations (size = commuters)
35%Under 10 mi642 residents
50%10–24 mi922 residents
9%25–50 mi170 residents
6%Over 50 mi111 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Next door

Manchester and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Manchester’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

Bainbridge Island: few work hereBainbridge IslandManchester
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Manchester

Manchester home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Manchester, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Manchester worth it?

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Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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