Work & commute · Beckley

Work & commute in Beckley, WV

40% of Beckley’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Charleston (4%), Prosperity (2%) and Oak Hill (1%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40%

2,477 of 6,188 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 3,711 Beckley residents head out of town to work, 2,477 work right here, and 14,940 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Beckley.

3,711live here, work elsewhere

2,477live and work here

14,940work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Beckley goes to work

Beckley (in town)right here

40%2,477

Charleston47.3 mi away

4%245

Prosperity4.9 mi away

2%129

Oak Hill13.7 mi away

1%85

Princeton28.2 mi away

1%70

Beaver2.8 mi away

1%68

Daniels3.9 mi away

1%64

South Charleston49.3 mi away

1%62

Fayetteville20.3 mi away

1%58

Sophia6.8 mi away

1%55

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%2,875

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

How far

How far Beckley commutes

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

65%

15%

14%

65%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Beckley is a job hub

2.81jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Beckley are

17,417 jobs are based in Beckley. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Beckley’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Beckley

17,417 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Beckley residents hold

6,188 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month46%

−4%

Jobs based in Beckley, 2013 → 2023: 18,077 → 17,417. 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.