Work & commute · Harrisonburg

Work & commute in Harrisonburg, VA

About one in 3 of Harrisonburg’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Bridgewater (4%), Dayton (3%) and Richmond (2%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

36%

7,053 of 19,712 working residents

Typical commute

7 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 12,659 Harrisonburg residents head out of town to work, 7,053 work right here, and 24,445 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Harrisonburg.

12,659live here, work elsewhere

7,053live and work here

24,445work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Harrisonburg goes to work

Harrisonburg (in town)right here

36%7,053

Bridgewater5.9 mi away

4%836

Dayton3.9 mi away

3%583

Richmond98.5 mi away

2%339

Staunton21.8 mi away

1%292

Charlottesville34.7 mi away

1%274

Massanutten8.1 mi away

1%250

Verona18.2 mi away

1%190

Waynesboro25.5 mi away

1%189

Massanetta Springs3.5 mi away

1%157

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%9,549

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

How far

How far Harrisonburg commutes

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

55%

29%

55%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Harrisonburg is a job hub

1.60jobs 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 Harrisonburg are

31,498 jobs are based in Harrisonburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harrisonburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Harrisonburg

31,498 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Harrisonburg residents hold

19,712 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−0%

Jobs based in Harrisonburg, 2013 → 2023: 31,597 → 31,498. 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.