Work & commute · McChord AFB

Work & commute in McChord AFB, WA

Most working residents leave McChord AFB for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Seattle (10%), Lakewood (9%) and Tacoma (8%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

8 of 473 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 465 McChord AFB residents head out of town to work, 8 work right here, and 465 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in McChord AFB.

465live here, work elsewhere

8live and work here

465work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where McChord AFB goes to work

Seattle34.3 mi away

10%46

Lakewood2.8 mi away

9%41

Tacoma8.4 mi away

8%36

Olympia20 mi away

3%16

Everett59 mi away

3%13

Renton27.7 mi away

3%12

Auburn17.8 mi away

3%12

Tumwater22.3 mi away

2%10

Kent22.1 mi away

2%10

Silverdale38 mi away

2%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%268

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

How far

How far McChord AFB commutes

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

24%

26%

28%

22%

24%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

McChord AFB is balanced between jobs and homes

1.00jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in McChord AFB are

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

Jobs based in McChord AFB

473 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month76%

Jobs McChord AFB residents hold

473 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−29%

Jobs based in McChord AFB, 2013 → 2023: 669 → 473. 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.