Work & commute · Welch

Work & commute in Welch, WV

About one in 4 of Welch’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Charleston (4%), Princeton (2%) and Beckley (2%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

28%

212 of 748 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 536 Welch residents head out of town to work, 212 work right here, and 1,348 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Welch.

536live here, work elsewhere

212live and work here

1,348work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Welch goes to work

Welch (in town)right here

28%212

Charleston63.7 mi away

4%33

Princeton27.5 mi away

2%15

Beckley33.5 mi away

2%15

Iaeger12.4 mi away

1%11

Morgantown176.6 mi away

1%11

Pineville11.6 mi away

1%10

Oceana18.5 mi away

1%9

Keystone8 mi away

1%8

Gary5.4 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

56%416

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

How far

How far Welch commutes

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

35%

15%

16%

34%

35%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

34%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Welch is a job hub

2.09jobs 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 Welch are

1,560 jobs are based in Welch. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Welch’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Welch

1,560 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Welch residents hold

748 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month46%

−30%

Jobs based in Welch, 2013 → 2023: 2,228 → 1,560. 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.