Work & commute · Charlottesville

Work & commute in Charlottesville, VA

About one in 3 of Charlottesville’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are University of Virginia (17%), Pantops (3%) and Richmond (2%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

5,984 of 17,604 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,620 Charlottesville residents head out of town to work, 5,984 work right here, and 28,499 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Charlottesville.

11,620live here, work elsewhere

5,984live and work here

28,499work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Charlottesville goes to work

Charlottesville (in town)right here

34%5,984

University of Virginia1.9 mi away

17%2,924

Pantops2.2 mi away

3%446

Richmond65.3 mi away

2%275

Rio3 mi away

1%256

Harrisonburg34.7 mi away

1%205

Hollymead6.4 mi away

1%202

Arlington94.8 mi away

1%175

Tysons91.4 mi away

1%152

Washington, DC99.5 mi away

1%141

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%6,844

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

How far

How far Charlottesville commutes

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

66%

25%

66%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Charlottesville is a job hub

1.96jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Charlottesville are

34,483 jobs are based in Charlottesville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Charlottesville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Charlottesville

34,483 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Charlottesville residents hold

17,604 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+12%

Jobs based in Charlottesville, 2013 → 2023: 30,910 → 34,483. 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.