Work & commute · Reston

Work & commute in Reston, VA

Most working residents leave Reston for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (10%), Tysons (9%) and Arlington (7%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

4,467 of 31,968 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

34%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 27,501 Reston residents head out of town to work, 4,467 work right here, and 68,832 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Reston.

27,501live here, work elsewhere

4,467live and work here

68,832work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Reston goes to work

Reston (in town)right here

14%4,467

Washington, DC18.3 mi away

10%3,099

Tysons6.9 mi away

9%2,730

Arlington14.4 mi away

7%2,129

Springfield14.8 mi away

5%1,481

Chantilly6.5 mi away

3%1,055

McNair3.4 mi away

3%982

Herndon2.4 mi away

3%925

Fair Oaks5.9 mi away

2%760

Ashburn8.2 mi away

2%746

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%13,594

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

How far

How far Reston commutes

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

54%

38%

54%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Reston is a job hub

2.29jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Reston are

73,299 jobs are based in Reston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Reston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Reston

73,299 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less5%

$1,251–$3,333 a month10%

Over $3,333 a month85%

Jobs Reston residents hold

31,968 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month76%

+10%

Jobs based in Reston, 2013 → 2023: 66,339 → 73,299. 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.