Work & commute · Walla Walla

Work & commute in Walla Walla, WA

54% of Walla Walla’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are College Place (5%), Spokane (3%) and Kennewick (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

54%

6,157 of 11,507 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,350 Walla Walla residents head out of town to work, 6,157 work right here, and 8,464 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Walla Walla.

5,350live here, work elsewhere

6,157live and work here

8,464work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Walla Walla goes to work

Walla Walla (in town)right here

54%6,157

College Place3.2 mi away

5%577

Spokane118.5 mi away

3%339

Kennewick41.2 mi away

3%319

Pasco40 mi away

2%255

Richland48.2 mi away

2%190

Seattle217.9 mi away

1%157

Spokane Valley122 mi away

1%156

Milton-Freewater, OR9.5 mi away

1%120

Pullman72.2 mi away

1%92

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%3,145

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

How far

How far Walla Walla commutes

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

66%

22%

66%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Walla Walla is balanced between jobs and homes

1.27jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Walla Walla are

14,621 jobs are based in Walla Walla. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Walla Walla’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Walla Walla

14,621 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Walla Walla residents hold

11,507 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+6%

Jobs based in Walla Walla, 2013 → 2023: 13,770 → 14,621. 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.