Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer people are out of work in West Point (0.5%) than in 97% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, West Point is behind 78% of U.S. towns. West Point grades B− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. About one in seven work in West Point itself; outside it, LaGrange draws the most (22%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set West Point apart
West Point fills up on a workday
West Point has 7,718 jobs, 4.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,800 people are in town, more than double the 3,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
West Point makes and builds things
61% of the jobs based in West Point are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs West Point residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from West Point are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Georgia. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Georgia worker. Time on the road ↓
Many of the people who work in West Point live in another state
Valley, AL (5%), Lanett, AL (4%) and Auburn, AL (3%) are among the top places West Point’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 18% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
The jobs in West Point pay better than its residents’ jobs
77% of the jobs based in West Point pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 52% of the jobs West Point residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside West Point. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: West Point’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Point is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #104 of 263 in Georgia. Unemployment holds West Point’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($57,214, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Point could be anywhere from C to A−.
West Point by day and by night
On a workday 1,356 residents head out to work, 215 work right here, and 7,503 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,800 people are in West Point on a workday afternoon, 168% more than live here.
4.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Goods jobs make up 61% of work in West Point
7,718 jobs are based in West Point.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Point, 2013 → 2023: 6,571 → 7,718. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Point’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 16 minutes in West Point
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Point workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,217 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Georgia: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where the people who work in West Point live
Where West Point clocks in
22% of workers
7% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How far West Point goes to work
About 32% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of West Point, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Point is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #201 of 263 in Georgia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Georgia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,352 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 21.2% of West Point households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Point’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,223rd of 4,210: where West Point ranks among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 4,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Avondale Estates GA | 3,543 | $124K | 6.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 272 | Ball Ground GA | 3,470 | $118K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Chattahoochee Hills GA | 3,524 | $112K | 1.1% | 3.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,221 | Stock Island FL | 4,162 | $66K | 11.5% | 1.8% | 9% | B− |
| 2,222 | Edgewater CO | 4,870 | $77K | 15.2% | 6.5% | 1% | B− |
| 2,223 | West Point GA | 3,661 | $57K | 12.7% | 0.5% | 14% | B− |
| 2,224 | Hillsboro MO | 3,493 | $78K | 11.7% | 4.2% | 5% | B− |
| 2,225 | Woodstock Township MI | 3,578 | $69K | 12.9% | 1.3% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,210 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of West Point, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in West Point: questions
What is the median household income in West Point?
$57,214 (±$22,668) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Point?
12.7%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Point?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Point work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are LaGrange (22%, 11 mi), Columbus (7%, 31 mi), Atlanta (3%, 73 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Point walkable?
West Point is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Point without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Point, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Point
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.