Work & commute · Bridgewater

Work & commute in Bridgewater, VA

Most working residents leave Bridgewater for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Harrisonburg (28%), Dayton (3%) and Staunton (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

299 of 2,427 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,128 Bridgewater residents head out of town to work, 299 work right here, and 3,043 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bridgewater.

2,128live here, work elsewhere

299live and work here

3,043work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bridgewater goes to work

Harrisonburg5.9 mi away

28%686

Bridgewater (in town)right here

12%299

Dayton2.4 mi away

3%68

Staunton16.8 mi away

2%40

Richmond100.4 mi away

1%36

Charlottesville35.6 mi away

1%32

Verona13.6 mi away

1%32

Waynesboro22.5 mi away

1%30

Fishersville19.8 mi away

1%27

Arlington106.1 mi away

1%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%1,154

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

How far

How far Bridgewater commutes

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

57%

10%

28%

57%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bridgewater is balanced between jobs and homes

1.38jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bridgewater are

3,342 jobs are based in Bridgewater. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bridgewater’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bridgewater

3,342 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities35%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Bridgewater residents hold

2,427 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+15%

Jobs based in Bridgewater, 2013 → 2023: 2,910 → 3,342. 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.