Work & commute · South Boston

Work & commute in South Boston, VA

Most working residents leave South Boston for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Halifax (12%), Riverdale (11%) and Danville (5%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

617 of 3,262 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 2,645 South Boston residents head out of town to work, 617 work right here, and 3,418 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South Boston.

2,645live here, work elsewhere

617live and work here

3,418work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where South Boston goes to work

South Boston (in town)right here

19%617

Halifax3.5 mi away

12%398

Riverdale2.8 mi away

11%374

Danville28.9 mi away

5%155

Richmond97.3 mi away

2%80

Lynchburg50 mi away

2%66

Roxboro, NC22.6 mi away

1%33

South Hill43.5 mi away

1%29

Norfolk148.3 mi away

1%22

Mountain Road5 mi away

1%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%1,466

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

How far

How far South Boston commutes

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

49%

14%

34%

49%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

34%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

South Boston is balanced between jobs and homes

1.24jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in South Boston are

4,035 jobs are based in South Boston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Boston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in South Boston

4,035 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs South Boston residents hold

3,262 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−3%

Jobs based in South Boston, 2013 → 2023: 4,140 → 4,035. 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.