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Work & commute in White Swan · Balanced

97% of White Swan’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave White Swan for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Yakima (17%), Toppenish (4%) and Sunnyside (3%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Work in town
3%
5 of 161 working residents
Typical commute
19 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
19 min
Less than WA (27 min)
Work from home
2%
Less than WA (20%)
Jobs based here
155
Balanced

What kind of work town is White Swan?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Time on the road

About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Washington

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
143 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

White Swan19 min
Washington27 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
2%

of White Swan workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 156 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 150 people come in from elsewhere.

156live here, work elsewhere
5live and work here
150work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night590
Workday580
590live here− 160head out to work+ 150come in to work= 580on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.96jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

17% of working residents work in Yakima

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

HarrahWapato: 4 residents work here (2%)Granger: 4 residents work here (2%)ZillahToppenish: 6 residents work here (4%)Union GapLynnwood: 2 residents work here (1%)Sunnyside: 5 residents work here (3%)Ellensburg: 2 residents work here (1%)RichlandYakima: 27 residents work here (17%)Kennewick: 3 residents work here (2%)White SwanTerrace Heights: 3 residents work here (2%)YakimaToppenishSunnysideWapatoGrangerKennewickWhite Swan
1
Yakima17.3 mi away
17%27
2
Toppenish20.3 mi away
4%6
3
Sunnyside35.2 mi away
3%5
4
White Swan (in town)right here
3%5
5
Wapato15.8 mi away
2%4
6
Granger26.1 mi away
2%4
7
Kennewick75.6 mi away
2%3
8
Terrace Heights21 mi away
2%3
9
Lynnwood124.4 mi away
1%2
10
Ellensburg44 mi away
1%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
62%100
The top trips

Where White Swan clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

How far

Half of White Swan commutes less than 19 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miYakima: 17% · 17.3 miToppenish: 4% · 20.3 miSunnyside: 3% · 35.2 miWapato: 2% · 15.8 miGranger: 2% · 26.1 miKennewick: 2% · 75.6 miTerrace Heights: 2% · 21 miLynnwood: 1% · 124.4 miEllensburg: 1% · 44 miYakima 17%Toppenish 4%Sunnyside 3%Wapato 2%White Swan
White SwanTop destinations (size = commuters)
17%Under 10 mi28 residents
53%10–24 mi85 residents
14%25–50 mi23 residents
16%Over 50 mi25 residents

About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in White SwanJobs White Swan residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms2%31%
Trade, transport & utilities5%12%
Services: health, schools, offices94%57%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less15%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month21%30%
Over $3,333 a month65%58%

Who does it

29 or younger18%24%
30 to 5457%55%
55 and older25%20%
+125%

Jobs based in White Swan, 2013 → 2023: 69 → 155. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of White Swan

White Swan home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from White Swan, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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