Work & commute · Pe Ell

Work & commute in Pe Ell, WA

Most working residents leave Pe Ell for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Chehalis (14%), Centralia (11%) and Tumwater (5%). Half commute less than 31 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

6 of 267 working residents

Typical commute

31 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

34 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 261 Pe Ell residents head out of town to work, 6 work right here, and 124 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pe Ell.

261live here, work elsewhere

6live and work here

124work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pe Ell goes to work

Chehalis17.1 mi away

14%37

Centralia18.7 mi away

11%29

Tumwater34.1 mi away

5%14

Tacoma61.5 mi away

5%13

Olympia37.6 mi away

4%12

Seattle85 mi away

4%10

Pe Ell (in town)right here

2%6

Napavine18.9 mi away

2%5

Lacey40.3 mi away

2%5

Lakewood54.8 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%132

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

How far

How far Pe Ell commutes

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

43%

19%

33%

5%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pe Ell is a commuter town

0.49jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Pe Ell are

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

Jobs based in Pe Ell

130 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month32%

Jobs Pe Ell residents hold

267 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+189%

Jobs based in Pe Ell, 2013 → 2023: 45 → 130. 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.