Work & commute · South Hill

Work & commute in South Hill, WA

Most working residents leave South Hill for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Tacoma (13%), Puyallup (11%) and Seattle (10%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,102 of 28,097 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

34 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 26,995 South Hill residents head out of town to work, 1,102 work right here, and 7,989 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South Hill.

26,995live here, work elsewhere

1,102live and work here

7,989work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where South Hill goes to work

Tacoma12.2 mi away

13%3,772

Puyallup4 mi away

11%2,975

Seattle34.6 mi away

10%2,691

Kent18.9 mi away

5%1,368

Auburn13.2 mi away

5%1,303

South Hill (in town)right here

4%1,102

Lakewood11.8 mi away

4%1,049

Sumner8 mi away

3%900

Federal Way13.4 mi away

3%743

Fife8.3 mi away

2%691

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%11,503

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

How far

How far South Hill commutes

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

34%

37%

22%

34%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

22%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

South Hill is a commuter town

0.32jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in South Hill are

9,091 jobs are based in South Hill. Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Hill’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in South Hill

9,091 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities34%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs South Hill residents hold

28,097 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month71%

+58%

Jobs based in South Hill, 2013 → 2023: 5,749 → 9,091. 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.