Work & commute · Big Stone Gap

Work & commute in Big Stone Gap, VA

Most working residents leave Big Stone Gap for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Wise (11%), Norton (9%) and Kingsport (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

294 of 1,611 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 1,317 Big Stone Gap residents head out of town to work, 294 work right here, and 2,064 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Big Stone Gap.

1,317live here, work elsewhere

294live and work here

2,064work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Big Stone Gap goes to work

Big Stone Gap (in town)right here

18%294

Wise13.3 mi away

11%177

Norton9.6 mi away

9%153

Kingsport, TN27 mi away

4%61

Bristol38.2 mi away

2%32

Abingdon45.8 mi away

1%24

Lebanon38.6 mi away

1%21

Clintwood26.6 mi away

1%19

Johnson City, TN42.1 mi away

1%17

Pennington Gap16.1 mi away

1%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%796

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

How far

How far Big Stone Gap commutes

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

27%

30%

18%

24%

27%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Big Stone Gap is balanced between jobs and homes

1.46jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.46 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Big Stone Gap are

2,358 jobs are based in Big Stone Gap. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Big Stone Gap’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Big Stone Gap

2,358 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Big Stone Gap residents hold

1,611 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month43%

−12%

Jobs based in Big Stone Gap, 2013 → 2023: 2,694 → 2,358. 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.