Work & commute · Emporia

Work & commute in Emporia, VA

About one in 4 of Emporia’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Richmond (4%), Petersburg (3%) and Newport News (2%). Half commute less than 32 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

664 of 2,570 working residents

Typical commute

32 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,906 Emporia residents head out of town to work, 664 work right here, and 3,340 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Emporia.

1,906live here, work elsewhere

664live and work here

3,340work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Emporia goes to work

Emporia (in town)right here

26%664

Richmond57.8 mi away

4%94

Petersburg36 mi away

3%68

Newport News62 mi away

2%61

Chesapeake68.4 mi away

2%59

South Hill32.9 mi away

1%38

Suffolk49.9 mi away

1%35

Norfolk73.1 mi away

1%34

Roanoke Rapids, NC18.4 mi away

1%29

Lawrenceville18.1 mi away

1%26

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%1,462

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

How far

How far Emporia commutes

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

38%

15%

39%

38%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

39%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Emporia is a job hub

1.56jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Emporia are

4,004 jobs are based in Emporia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Emporia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Emporia

4,004 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Emporia residents hold

2,570 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month46%

+14%

Jobs based in Emporia, 2013 → 2023: 3,508 → 4,004. 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.