Work & commute · Covington

Work & commute in Covington, VA

About one in 4 of Covington’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Roanoke (5%), Low Moor (3%) and Clifton Forge (3%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

646 of 2,505 working residents

Typical commute

19 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 1,859 Covington residents head out of town to work, 646 work right here, and 3,044 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Covington.

1,859live here, work elsewhere

646live and work here

3,044work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Covington goes to work

Covington (in town)right here

26%646

Roanoke34.8 mi away

5%117

Low Moor6.5 mi away

3%68

Clifton Forge9.2 mi away

3%66

Hot Springs17.6 mi away

2%59

Mallow1.5 mi away

2%52

Selma7.6 mi away

1%37

Daleville25.6 mi away

1%37

Salem34.5 mi away

1%35

Lynchburg50.7 mi away

1%34

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%1,354

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

How far

How far Covington commutes

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

45%

18%

29%

45%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Covington is balanced between jobs and homes

1.47jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Covington are

3,690 jobs are based in Covington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Covington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Covington

3,690 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)54%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)27%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Covington residents hold

2,505 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+10%

Jobs based in Covington, 2013 → 2023: 3,356 → 3,690. 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.