Work & commute · Despard

Work & commute in Despard, WV

Most working residents leave Despard for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Clarksburg (24%), Bridgeport (20%) and Fairmont (5%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11 of 324 working residents

Typical commute

5 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 313 Despard residents head out of town to work, 11 work right here, and 709 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Despard.

313live here, work elsewhere

11live and work here

709work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Despard goes to work

Clarksburg2.7 mi away

24%77

Bridgeport4 mi away

20%66

Fairmont15.9 mi away

5%15

Morgantown31.2 mi away

5%15

Despard (in town)right here

3%11

Shinnston7.4 mi away

2%8

Parsons36.6 mi away

2%5

Westover29.6 mi away

1%4

Vienna65 mi away

1%4

Charleston96.1 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%115

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

How far

How far Despard commutes

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

64%

10%

13%

12%

64%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Despard is a job hub

2.22jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Despard are

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

Jobs based in Despard

720 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)56%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)8%

$1,250 a month or less6%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Despard residents hold

324 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month42%

+120%

Jobs based in Despard, 2013 → 2023: 327 → 720. 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.