Work & commute · Dayton

Work & commute in Dayton, VA

Most working residents leave Dayton for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Harrisonburg (35%), Bridgewater (5%) and Richmond (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40 of 753 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 713 Dayton residents head out of town to work, 40 work right here, and 1,970 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dayton.

713live here, work elsewhere

40live and work here

1,970work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dayton goes to work

Harrisonburg3.9 mi away

35%261

Dayton (in town)right here

5%40

Bridgewater2.4 mi away

5%36

Richmond100.6 mi away

2%13

Charlottesville36.1 mi away

2%12

Staunton19.1 mi away

1%11

Tysons98.8 mi away

1%8

Broadway15.2 mi away

1%6

Waynesboro24.3 mi away

1%6

University of Virginia34.9 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%354

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

How far

How far Dayton commutes

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

63%

22%

63%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dayton is a job hub

2.67jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Dayton are

2,010 jobs are based in Dayton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Dayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Dayton

2,010 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)82%

Trade, transport & utilities4%

Services (health, schools, offices…)14%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Dayton residents hold

753 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+471%

Jobs based in Dayton, 2013 → 2023: 352 → 2,010. 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.