Work & commute · Ashland

Work & commute in Ashland, VA

Most working residents leave Ashland for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Richmond (13%), Mechanicsville (3%) and Innsbrook (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

423 of 3,122 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,699 Ashland residents head out of town to work, 423 work right here, and 10,312 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ashland.

2,699live here, work elsewhere

423live and work here

10,312work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ashland goes to work

Ashland (in town)right here

14%423

Richmond15.8 mi away

13%402

Mechanicsville11.1 mi away

3%107

Innsbrook9.3 mi away

3%103

Laurel8.8 mi away

2%49

Short Pump10.8 mi away

1%44

Tysons81.3 mi away

1%37

Virginia Beach104.4 mi away

1%33

Tuckahoe13.5 mi away

1%32

Arlington79.8 mi away

1%31

Everywhere elseother towns and states

60%1,861

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

How far

How far Ashland commutes

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

35%

36%

20%

35%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ashland is a job hub

3.44jobs per working resident

A job hub

3.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Ashland are

10,735 jobs are based in Ashland. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ashland’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ashland

10,735 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Ashland residents hold

3,122 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+8%

Jobs based in Ashland, 2013 → 2023: 9,972 → 10,735. 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.