Work & commute · Cowen

Work & commute in Cowen, WV

Most working residents leave Cowen for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Addison (Webster Springs) (8%), Summersville (4%) and Charleston (4%). Half commute less than 30 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

9 of 153 working residents

Typical commute

30 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 144 Cowen residents head out of town to work, 9 work right here, and 117 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Cowen.

144live here, work elsewhere

9live and work here

117work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Cowen goes to work

Addison (Webster Springs)9.3 mi away

8%13

Cowen (in town)right here

6%9

Summersville17.8 mi away

4%6

Charleston58.6 mi away

4%6

Camden-on-Gauley3.7 mi away

3%4

Beckley55.1 mi away

3%4

Pineville77.9 mi away

1%2

Gauley Bridge39.4 mi away

1%2

Teays Valley74.2 mi away

1%2

Bowie, MD209.2 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

68%104

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

How far

How far Cowen commutes

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

34%

14%

42%

34%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

42%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Cowen is balanced between jobs and homes

0.82jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Cowen are

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

Jobs based in Cowen

126 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month37%

Jobs Cowen residents hold

153 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month36%

−26%

Jobs based in Cowen, 2013 → 2023: 170 → 126. 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.