Work & commute · Shelton

Work & commute in Shelton, WA

Most working residents leave Shelton for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Olympia (9%), Seattle (6%) and Tumwater (4%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

733 of 4,291 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 3,558 Shelton residents head out of town to work, 733 work right here, and 4,086 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Shelton.

3,558live here, work elsewhere

733live and work here

4,086work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Shelton goes to work

Shelton (in town)right here

17%733

Olympia16.4 mi away

9%383

Seattle44.8 mi away

6%252

Tumwater18.7 mi away

4%187

Lacey19.4 mi away

4%161

Tacoma30.7 mi away

3%145

Kent43.6 mi away

1%58

Everett66.6 mi away

1%56

Bellevue51.5 mi away

1%50

Federal Way36.8 mi away

1%48

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%2,218

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

How far

How far Shelton commutes

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

32%

22%

29%

17%

32%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

29%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Shelton is balanced between jobs and homes

1.12jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.12 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Shelton are

4,819 jobs are based in Shelton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shelton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Shelton

4,819 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Shelton residents hold

4,291 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−9%

Jobs based in Shelton, 2013 → 2023: 5,312 → 4,819. 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.