Work & commute · Buena Vista

Work & commute in Buena Vista, VA

About one in 5 of Buena Vista’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Lexington (15%), Glasgow (4%) and Roanoke (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

621 of 2,814 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 2,193 Buena Vista residents head out of town to work, 621 work right here, and 1,764 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Buena Vista.

2,193live here, work elsewhere

621live and work here

1,764work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Buena Vista goes to work

Buena Vista (in town)right here

22%621

Lexington6 mi away

15%409

Glasgow8.7 mi away

4%117

Roanoke45.3 mi away

4%114

East Lexington5.9 mi away

3%90

Lynchburg24.5 mi away

3%75

Stuarts Draft26.7 mi away

2%58

Staunton33.7 mi away

1%40

Harrisonburg55.5 mi away

1%39

Waynesboro34.1 mi away

1%36

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%1,215

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

How far

How far Buena Vista commutes

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

50%

19%

25%

50%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Buena Vista is balanced between jobs and homes

0.85jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Buena Vista are

2,385 jobs are based in Buena Vista. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Buena Vista’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Buena Vista

2,385 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Buena Vista residents hold

2,814 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month45%

−8%

Jobs based in Buena Vista, 2013 → 2023: 2,589 → 2,385. 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.