Work & commute · Midland

Work & commute in Midland, WA

Most working residents leave Midland for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Tacoma (20%), Seattle (10%) and Lakewood (6%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

120 of 4,143 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 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 4,023 Midland residents head out of town to work, 120 work right here, and 2,440 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Midland.

4,023live here, work elsewhere

120live and work here

2,440work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Midland goes to work

Tacoma5.9 mi away

20%811

Seattle30.9 mi away

10%409

Lakewood5.5 mi away

6%248

Puyallup5.7 mi away

4%183

Fife5 mi away

4%174

Parkland2.5 mi away

3%137

Kent17.6 mi away

3%135

Midland (in town)right here

3%120

Auburn13.1 mi away

3%116

Federal Way10.2 mi away

3%107

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%1,703

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

How far

How far Midland commutes

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

52%

22%

20%

52%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Midland is a commuter town

0.62jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Midland are

2,560 jobs are based in Midland. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Midland’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Midland

2,560 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Midland residents hold

4,143 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month66%

−11%

Jobs based in Midland, 2013 → 2023: 2,861 → 2,560. 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.