Work & commute · Soap Lake

Work & commute in Soap Lake, WA

Most working residents leave Soap Lake for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Ephrata (22%), Moses Lake (11%) and Spokane (4%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19 of 552 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 533 Soap Lake residents head out of town to work, 19 work right here, and 209 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Soap Lake.

533live here, work elsewhere

19live and work here

209work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Soap Lake goes to work

Ephrata5.9 mi away

22%120

Moses Lake20.6 mi away

11%61

Spokane97.6 mi away

4%24

Soap Lake (in town)right here

3%19

Seattle134.7 mi away

3%17

Moses Lake North15.6 mi away

3%16

Quincy20.2 mi away

2%13

Wenatchee39.6 mi away

2%13

Pasco79.6 mi away

2%11

Spokane Valley106.7 mi away

2%10

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%248

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

How far

How far Soap Lake commutes

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

29%

25%

36%

29%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

36%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Soap Lake is a commuter town

0.41jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Soap Lake are

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

Jobs based in Soap Lake

228 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities2%

Services (health, schools, offices…)95%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Soap Lake residents hold

552 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month57%

−8%

Jobs based in Soap Lake, 2013 → 2023: 249 → 228. 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.