Work & commute · Jefferson

Work & commute in Jefferson, WV

Most working residents leave Jefferson for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Charleston (27%), South Charleston (9%) and St. Albans (8%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 207 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 203 Jefferson residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 557 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Jefferson.

203live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

557work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Jefferson goes to work

Charleston8.6 mi away

27%55

South Charleston4.8 mi away

9%19

St. Albans1.8 mi away

8%16

Cross Lanes4.4 mi away

3%7

Teays Valley8.9 mi away

3%7

Huntington35.2 mi away

2%5

Dunbar2.8 mi away

2%4

Barboursville27.6 mi away

2%4

Nitro2.6 mi away

2%4

Jefferson (in town)right here

2%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%82

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

How far

How far Jefferson commutes

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

62%

16%

12%

10%

62%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Jefferson is a job hub

2.71jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Jefferson are

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

Jobs based in Jefferson

561 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Jefferson residents hold

207 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month39%

−39%

Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 913 → 561. 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.