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Work & commute in Sanford · A commuter town

99% of Sanford’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Sanford for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Newport News (5%), Richmond (5%) and Onancock (4%). Half commute less than 52 miles.

Work in town
1%
1 of 77 working residents
Typical commute
52 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Work from home
0%
Less than VA (18%)
Jobs based here
7
A commuter town
Work out of state
53%
mostly Maryland

What kind of work town is Sanford?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

5% of working residents work in Newport News

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Washington: 1 residents work here (1%)Snow Hill: 1 residents work here (1%)Takoma Park: 1 residents work here (1%)Pocomoke City: 2 residents work here (3%)SalisburyParksley: 2 residents work here (3%)NassawadoxOnancock: 3 residents work here (4%)StauntonNewport News: 4 residents work here (5%)Chesapeake: 2 residents work here (3%)Richmond: 4 residents work here (5%)Hampton: 2 residents work here (3%)GreenbushSanfordNewport NewsRichmondOnancockPocomoke CityParksleyChesapeakeSanford
1
Newport News75.4 mi away
5%4
2
Richmond102.6 mi away
5%4
3
Onancock16 mi away
4%3
4
Pocomoke City, MD10.7 mi away
3%2
5
Parksley10.2 mi away
3%2
6
Chesapeake93.4 mi away
3%2
7
Hampton70.2 mi away
3%2
8
Washington, DC99.1 mi away
1%1
9
Snow Hill, MD22.4 mi away
1%1
10
Takoma Park, MD102.2 mi away
1%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
71%55
The top trips

Where Sanford clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

Sanford quiets down on a workday

On a workday 76 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 6 people come in from elsewhere.

76live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
6work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night44
Workday0
44live here− 76head out to work+ 6come in to work= 0on a workday

About 0 people are in Sanford on a workday afternoon, 100% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.09jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.09 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Sanford commutes less than 52 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miNewport News: 5% · 75.4 miRichmond: 5% · 102.6 miOnancock: 4% · 16 miPocomoke City: 3% · 10.7 miParksley: 3% · 10.2 miChesapeake: 3% · 93.4 miHampton: 3% · 70.2 miWashington: 1% · 99.1 miSnow Hill: 1% · 22.4 miTakoma Park: 1% · 102.2 miNewport News 5%Richmond 5%Onancock 4%Pocomoke City 3%Parksley 3%Sanford
SanfordTop destinations (size = commuters)
15%Under 10 mi11 residents
32%10–24 mi23 residents
3%25–50 mi2 residents
51%Over 50 mi37 residents

About 51% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Sanford makes things: 100% of its jobs are in goods

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

Jobs based in SanfordJobs Sanford residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms100%30%
Trade, transport & utilities0%14%
Services: health, schools, offices0%56%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less0%16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month29%25%
Over $3,333 a month71%60%

Who does it

29 or younger29%14%
30 to 5457%48%
55 and older14%38%
−53%

Jobs based in Sanford, 2013 → 2023: 15 → 7. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

Working from home in Sanford

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

Working from home
0%

of Sanford workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Sanford

Sanford home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Sanford, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Sanford worth it?

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Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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