Work & commute · Sprague

Work & commute in Sprague, WV

Most working residents leave Sprague for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Beckley (39%), Charleston (3%) and Prosperity (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

6 of 537 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

12 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 531 Sprague residents head out of town to work, 6 work right here, and 385 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sprague.

531live here, work elsewhere

6live and work here

385work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sprague goes to work

Beckley1.8 mi away

39%207

Charleston45.5 mi away

3%17

Prosperity3.2 mi away

2%12

Lewisburg41.3 mi away

2%11

Oak Hill12.4 mi away

1%8

Summersville38.8 mi away

1%7

Sophia7.1 mi away

1%6

Sprague (in town)right here

1%6

MacArthur3.3 mi away

1%6

Bluefield36.7 mi away

1%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%252

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

How far

How far Sprague commutes

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

63%

17%

13%

63%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sprague is a commuter town

0.73jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.73 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Sprague are

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

Jobs based in Sprague

391 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs Sprague residents hold

537 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+11%

Jobs based in Sprague, 2013 → 2023: 351 → 391. 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.