Work & commute · Chesapeake

Work & commute in Chesapeake, WV

Most working residents leave Chesapeake for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Charleston (38%), South Charleston (10%) and Beckley (2%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 415 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 412 Chesapeake residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 119 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chesapeake.

412live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

119work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chesapeake goes to work

Charleston10.1 mi away

38%156

South Charleston12.5 mi away

10%40

Beckley37.2 mi away

2%9

Cross Lanes19.7 mi away

2%9

Marmet2.6 mi away

2%8

St. Albans18.7 mi away

2%8

Teays Valley26.1 mi away

1%5

Huntington50.4 mi away

1%4

Big Chimney13.3 mi away

1%4

Chesapeake (in town)right here

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%169

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

How far

How far Chesapeake commutes

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

30%

44%

13%

12%

30%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chesapeake is a commuter town

0.29jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Chesapeake are

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

Jobs based in Chesapeake

122 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Chesapeake residents hold

415 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−73%

Jobs based in Chesapeake, 2013 → 2023: 445 → 122. 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.