Work & commute · Norfolk

Work & commute in Norfolk, VA

About one in 3 of Norfolk’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Virginia Beach (22%), Chesapeake (13%) and Portsmouth (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

36%

29,612 of 82,690 working residents

Typical commute

8 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 53,078 Norfolk residents head out of town to work, 29,612 work right here, and 91,980 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Norfolk.

53,078live here, work elsewhere

29,612live and work here

91,980work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Norfolk goes to work

Norfolk (in town)right here

36%29,612

Virginia Beach15.5 mi away

22%17,847

Chesapeake17.1 mi away

13%10,598

Portsmouth7.7 mi away

4%3,092

Newport News18.6 mi away

4%2,910

Hampton9.1 mi away

3%2,468

Suffolk26.6 mi away

2%1,545

Richmond79.7 mi away

1%958

Arlington142.9 mi away

1%476

Tysons148.1 mi away

0%360

Everywhere elseother towns and states

16%12,824

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

How far

How far Norfolk commutes

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

60%

23%

16%

60%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

1%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Norfolk 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 Norfolk are

121,592 jobs are based in Norfolk. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Norfolk’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Norfolk

121,592 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Norfolk residents hold

82,690 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−0%

Jobs based in Norfolk, 2013 → 2023: 122,117 → 121,592. 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.