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Work & commute · Ruston

Work & commute in Ruston, WA

Most working residents leave Ruston for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Tacoma (34%), Seattle (10%) and Lakewood (6%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
1%
4 of 471 working residents
Typical commute
10 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
34 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
22%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 467 Ruston residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 623 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ruston.

467live here, work elsewhere
4live and work here
623work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Ruston goes to work

RustonFifeDuPontGig HarborUniversity PlacePuyallupLakewoodOlympiaFederal WayBellevueKentAuburnSeattleTacomaParklandArtondaleSouth HillTacomaSeattleLakewoodFederal WayBellevuePuyallupOlympiaKentAuburnFifeRuston
1
Tacoma3.9 mi away
34%159
2
Seattle23.4 mi away
10%47
3
Lakewood9.3 mi away
6%26
4
Federal Way8.1 mi away
4%19
5
Bellevue26.5 mi away
3%15
6
Puyallup13.1 mi away
3%14
7
Olympia25.3 mi away
3%12
8
Kent15.3 mi away
3%12
9
Auburn14.1 mi away
3%12
10
Fife8.7 mi away
2%10
Everywhere elseother towns and states
31%145

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

How far

How far Ruston commutes

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

50%Under 10 mi
30%10–24 mi
16%25–50 mi
4%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Ruston is balanced between jobs and homes

1.33jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ruston are

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

Jobs based in Ruston

627 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)6%
Trade, transport & utilities5%
Services (health, schools, offices…)89%
$1,250 a month or less16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month29%
Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Ruston residents hold

471 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)11%
Trade, transport & utilities15%
Services (health, schools, offices…)73%
$1,250 a month or less6%
$1,251–$3,333 a month15%
Over $3,333 a month78%
+32%

Jobs based in Ruston, 2013 → 2023: 474 → 627. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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