Work & commute · Moses Lake

Work & commute in Moses Lake, WA

40% of Moses Lake’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Moses Lake North (4%), Ephrata (4%) and Spokane (3%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40%

4,278 of 10,725 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 6,447 Moses Lake residents head out of town to work, 4,278 work right here, and 9,156 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Moses Lake.

6,447live here, work elsewhere

4,278live and work here

9,156work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Moses Lake goes to work

Moses Lake (in town)right here

40%4,278

Moses Lake North5 mi away

4%455

Ephrata17.6 mi away

4%413

Spokane93.9 mi away

3%353

Othello21.7 mi away

3%338

Wenatchee53.7 mi away

3%336

Seattle147.8 mi away

2%202

Spokane Valley102.5 mi away

2%189

Quincy27.9 mi away

1%152

Warden15.3 mi away

1%144

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%3,865

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

How far

How far Moses Lake commutes

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

50%

12%

33%

50%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Moses Lake is balanced between jobs and homes

1.25jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Moses Lake are

13,434 jobs are based in Moses Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Moses Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Moses Lake

13,434 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Moses Lake residents hold

10,725 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+30%

Jobs based in Moses Lake, 2013 → 2023: 10,358 → 13,434. 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.