Work & commute · Spokane

Work & commute in Spokane, WA

52% of Spokane’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Spokane Valley (15%), Seattle (3%) and Airway Heights (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

52%

49,574 of 95,256 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 45,682 Spokane residents head out of town to work, 49,574 work right here, and 72,774 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Spokane.

45,682live here, work elsewhere

49,574live and work here

72,774work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Spokane goes to work

Spokane (in town)right here

52%49,574

Spokane Valley9.3 mi away

15%14,013

Seattle228.9 mi away

3%2,404

Airway Heights6.9 mi away

2%2,133

Liberty Lake15.3 mi away

2%1,719

Cheney14 mi away

1%950

Country Homes5.6 mi away

1%870

Fairwood6.9 mi away

1%797

Bellevue220 mi away

1%705

Coeur d'Alene, ID29.8 mi away

1%581

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%21,510

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

How far

How far Spokane commutes

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

73%

10%

16%

73%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

1%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Spokane is balanced between jobs and homes

1.28jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Spokane are

122,348 jobs are based in Spokane. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Spokane’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Spokane

122,348 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Spokane residents hold

95,256 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+10%

Jobs based in Spokane, 2013 → 2023: 110,880 → 122,348. 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.