Work & commute · Tacoma

Work & commute in Tacoma, WA

About one in 4 of Tacoma’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Seattle (12%), Lakewood (4%) and Kent (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

28%

26,012 of 92,936 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 66,924 Tacoma residents head out of town to work, 26,012 work right here, and 88,180 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Tacoma.

66,924live here, work elsewhere

26,012live and work here

88,180work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Tacoma goes to work

Tacoma (in town)right here

28%26,012

Seattle25.9 mi away

12%10,927

Lakewood6.9 mi away

4%4,108

Kent15 mi away

4%3,613

Fife5.3 mi away

3%3,062

Federal Way7 mi away

3%2,942

Auburn12.2 mi away

3%2,826

Puyallup9.4 mi away

3%2,776

SeaTac15.2 mi away

2%2,077

Bellevue27.7 mi away

2%1,998

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%32,595

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

How far

How far Tacoma commutes

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

49%

27%

18%

49%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Tacoma is balanced between jobs and homes

1.23jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Tacoma are

114,192 jobs are based in Tacoma. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Tacoma’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Tacoma

114,192 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs Tacoma residents hold

92,936 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+22%

Jobs based in Tacoma, 2013 → 2023: 93,881 → 114,192. 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.