Work & commute · Ocean

Work & commute in Ocean, WA

Most working residents leave Ocean for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Ocean Shores (17%), Aberdeen (7%) and Seattle (6%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 90 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 87 Ocean residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ocean.

87live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

25work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ocean goes to work

Ocean Shores7.9 mi away

17%15

Aberdeen17.9 mi away

7%6

Seattle92.3 mi away

6%5

Hoquiam13.7 mi away

4%4

Ocean City (in town)right here

3%3

Portland, OR128.7 mi away

2%2

Port Angeles78.9 mi away

2%2

Olympia59.5 mi away

2%2

Tacoma80.6 mi away

2%2

Oyehut4.1 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%47

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

How far

How far Ocean commutes

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

42%

14%

42%

42%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

1%25–50 mi

42%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ocean is a commuter town

0.31jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Ocean are

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

Jobs based in Ocean

28 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)93%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month57%

Over $3,333 a month25%

Jobs Ocean residents hold

90 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−33%

Jobs based in Ocean, 2013 → 2023: 42 → 28. 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.