Work & commute · Clay

Work & commute in Clay, WV

About one in 5 of Clay’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Charleston (11%), South Charleston (7%) and Beckley (4%). Half commute less than 29 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

26 of 119 working residents

Typical commute

29 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 93 Clay residents head out of town to work, 26 work right here, and 704 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Clay.

93live here, work elsewhere

26live and work here

704work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Clay goes to work

Clay (in town)right here

22%26

Charleston30.6 mi away

11%13

South Charleston34.9 mi away

7%8

Beckley47.7 mi away

4%5

Summersville17.9 mi away

3%3

Sutton24.6 mi away

2%2

Dunbar35.8 mi away

2%2

St. Albans40.2 mi away

2%2

Barboursville65.6 mi away

2%2

Oak Hill34 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%54

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

How far

How far Clay commutes

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

31%

14%

41%

15%

31%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

41%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Clay is a job hub

6.13jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Clay are

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

Jobs based in Clay

730 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Clay residents hold

119 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month46%

−27%

Jobs based in Clay, 2013 → 2023: 1,005 → 730. 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.