Work & commute · Valley

Work & commute in Valley, WA

Most working residents leave Valley for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Spokane (33%), Colville (5%) and Chewelah (5%). Half commute less than 39 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 57 working residents

Typical commute

39 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

— min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

64%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 54 Valley residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 197 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Valley.

54live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

197work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Valley goes to work

Spokane37.5 mi away

33%19

Colville27 mi away

5%3

Chewelah7.6 mi away

5%3

Airway Heights37 mi away

5%3

Valley (in town)right here

5%3

Spokane Valley41.9 mi away

4%2

Clark Fork, ID71.6 mi away

2%1

El Paso, TX1273.4 mi away

2%1

Millwood39.6 mi away

2%1

Springdale8.1 mi away

2%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%20

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

How far

How far Valley commutes

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

16%

54%

26%

16%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

54%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Valley is a job hub

3.51jobs per working resident

A job hub

3.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Valley are

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

Jobs based in Valley

200 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)91%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Valley residents hold

57 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month63%

−12%

Jobs based in Valley, 2013 → 2023: 226 → 200. 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.