Work & commute · Wise

Work & commute in Wise, VA

About one in 4 of Wise’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Norton (13%), Big Stone Gap (3%) and Pound (2%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

227 of 909 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 682 Wise residents head out of town to work, 227 work right here, and 3,487 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wise.

682live here, work elsewhere

227live and work here

3,487work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wise goes to work

Wise (in town)right here

25%227

Norton4 mi away

13%114

Big Stone Gap13.3 mi away

3%28

Pound10.4 mi away

2%21

Abingdon38.5 mi away

2%20

Clintwood13.9 mi away

2%16

Kingsport, TN31.7 mi away

2%15

Coeburn6.5 mi away

2%14

Bristol34.2 mi away

2%14

Johnson City, TN45.2 mi away

1%13

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%427

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

How far

How far Wise commutes

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

50%

13%

17%

20%

50%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wise is a job hub

4.09jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wise are

3,714 jobs are based in Wise. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wise’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wise

3,714 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Wise residents hold

909 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−10%

Jobs based in Wise, 2013 → 2023: 4,104 → 3,714. 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.