Work & commute · Rocky Mount

Work & commute in Rocky Mount, VA

About one in 3 of Rocky Mount’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Roanoke (16%), Salem (4%) and Hollins (2%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

570 of 1,948 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 1,378 Rocky Mount residents head out of town to work, 570 work right here, and 7,117 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rocky Mount.

1,378live here, work elsewhere

570live and work here

7,117work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rocky Mount goes to work

Rocky Mount (in town)right here

29%570

Roanoke19.4 mi away

16%314

Salem21.6 mi away

4%87

Hollins23.8 mi away

2%46

Cave Spring16.8 mi away

2%45

Martinsville22.2 mi away

2%38

Danville39.3 mi away

1%28

Blacksburg33.7 mi away

1%26

Christiansburg30.2 mi away

1%22

Westlake Corner13 mi away

1%20

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%752

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

How far

How far Rocky Mount commutes

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

41%

35%

10%

15%

41%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rocky Mount is a job hub

3.95jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Rocky Mount are

7,687 jobs are based in Rocky Mount. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rocky Mount’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rocky Mount

7,687 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Rocky Mount residents hold

1,948 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month48%

−7%

Jobs based in Rocky Mount, 2013 → 2023: 8,227 → 7,687. 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.