Work & commute · Wapato

Work & commute in Wapato, WA

Most working residents leave Wapato for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Yakima (27%), Toppenish (4%) and Union Gap (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

235 of 1,742 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,507 Wapato residents head out of town to work, 235 work right here, and 1,373 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wapato.

1,507live here, work elsewhere

235live and work here

1,373work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wapato goes to work

Yakima11.9 mi away

27%468

Wapato (in town)right here

13%235

Toppenish6.8 mi away

4%65

Union Gap8.4 mi away

3%58

Moxee8.4 mi away

2%35

Pasco63.2 mi away

2%31

Kennewick61.8 mi away

2%29

Ahtanum12.1 mi away

2%28

Terrace Heights10.6 mi away

1%21

Spokane164.1 mi away

1%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%755

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

How far

How far Wapato commutes

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

42%

36%

19%

42%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wapato is balanced between jobs and homes

0.92jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Wapato are

1,608 jobs are based in Wapato. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wapato’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wapato

1,608 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Wapato residents hold

1,742 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)37%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month44%

+28%

Jobs based in Wapato, 2013 → 2023: 1,254 → 1,608. 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.