Work & commute · Union

Work & commute in Union, WV

Most working residents leave Union for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Lewisburg (6%), Beckley (5%) and Alderson (4%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10 of 147 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 137 Union residents head out of town to work, 10 work right here, and 306 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Union.

137live here, work elsewhere

10live and work here

306work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Union goes to work

Union (in town)right here

7%10

Lewisburg16.3 mi away

6%9

Beckley36.2 mi away

5%7

Alderson11.1 mi away

4%6

Blacksburg, VA25.6 mi away

3%5

White Sulphur Springs19.6 mi away

3%5

Fairlea13.1 mi away

3%5

Ronceverte11.8 mi away

3%4

Charleston79.3 mi away

2%3

Bluefield, VA47.2 mi away

1%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

62%91

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

How far

How far Union commutes

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

21%

35%

29%

15%

21%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

29%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Union is a job hub

2.15jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Union are

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

Jobs based in Union

316 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Union residents hold

147 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−58%

Jobs based in Union, 2013 → 2023: 756 → 316. 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.