Work & commute · Yakima

Work & commute in Yakima, WA

49% of Yakima’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Union Gap (5%), Selah (2%) and Seattle (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

49%

18,041 of 36,908 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 18,867 Yakima residents head out of town to work, 18,041 work right here, and 28,254 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Yakima.

18,867live here, work elsewhere

18,041live and work here

28,254work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Yakima goes to work

Yakima (in town)right here

49%18,041

Union Gap3.7 mi away

5%1,756

Selah3.8 mi away

2%756

Seattle110.6 mi away

2%705

Ahtanum3.9 mi away

2%665

Terrace Heights5.5 mi away

2%558

Moxee7.5 mi away

1%530

Richland63.4 mi away

1%384

Toppenish18.4 mi away

1%379

Kennewick70.9 mi away

1%364

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%12,770

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

How far

How far Yakima commutes

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

68%

21%

68%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Yakima is balanced between jobs and homes

1.25jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Yakima are

46,295 jobs are based in Yakima. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Yakima’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Yakima

46,295 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Yakima residents hold

36,908 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+18%

Jobs based in Yakima, 2013 → 2023: 39,331 → 46,295. 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.