Work & commute · Vancouver

Work & commute in Vancouver, WA

About one in 3 of Vancouver’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Portland (19%), Seattle (3%) and Camas (3%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35%

29,327 of 84,299 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 54,972 Vancouver residents head out of town to work, 29,327 work right here, and 70,968 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Vancouver.

54,972live here, work elsewhere

29,327live and work here

70,968work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Vancouver goes to work

Vancouver (in town)right here

35%29,327

Portland, OR7.4 mi away

19%15,688

Seattle137.4 mi away

3%2,899

Camas8.4 mi away

3%2,372

Hazel Dell4.1 mi away

2%1,899

Gresham, OR12 mi away

2%1,329

Mount Vista7.1 mi away

1%1,243

Salmon Creek6 mi away

1%1,100

Orchards4.8 mi away

1%1,006

Hillsboro, OR18 mi away

1%935

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%26,501

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

How far

How far Vancouver commutes

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

67%

13%

18%

67%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Vancouver is balanced between jobs and homes

1.19jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.19 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Vancouver are

100,295 jobs are based in Vancouver. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Vancouver’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Vancouver

100,295 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Vancouver residents hold

84,299 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+29%

Jobs based in Vancouver, 2013 → 2023: 77,530 → 100,295. 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.