Work & commute · Dunbar

Work & commute in Dunbar, WV

Most working residents leave Dunbar for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Charleston (36%), South Charleston (13%) and Huntington (3%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

162 of 3,134 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 2,972 Dunbar residents head out of town to work, 162 work right here, and 3,365 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dunbar.

2,972live here, work elsewhere

162live and work here

3,365work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dunbar goes to work

Charleston5.8 mi away

36%1,116

South Charleston2.4 mi away

13%397

Dunbar (in town)right here

5%162

Huntington37.9 mi away

3%88

St. Albans4.5 mi away

2%71

Teays Valley11.5 mi away

2%65

Nitro4.8 mi away

2%57

Cross Lanes5.2 mi away

2%57

Beckley51.7 mi away

2%51

Hurricane15.8 mi away

1%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%1,047

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

How far

How far Dunbar commutes

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

70%

10%

11%

70%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dunbar is balanced between jobs and homes

1.13jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Dunbar are

3,527 jobs are based in Dunbar. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Dunbar’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Dunbar

3,527 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Dunbar residents hold

3,134 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+14%

Jobs based in Dunbar, 2013 → 2023: 3,100 → 3,527. 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.