Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domainVan Lear has 0.0 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Van Lear report 10 jobs for 266 working residents. Hardly any work in Van Lear itself; outside it, Paintsville draws the most (24%, 4 miles). Commuters spend 21 minutes getting to work on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Van Lear apart on work
Van Lear is a place people come home to
There are 10 jobs based in Van Lear, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Van Lear has about 190 people in it, 58% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Few Van Lear workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 10% across Kentucky. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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; with 266 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Van Lear on a workday afternoon
On a workday 265 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 9 people come in from elsewhere.
About 190 people are in Van Lear on a workday afternoon, 58% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
From Van Lear, about 21 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Van Lear workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 168 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% 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 trip to work from Van Lear ends
Where Van Lear clocks in
24% of workers
16% 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.
Goods jobs make up 50% of work in Van Lear
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Van Lear, 2013 → 2023: 8 → 10. 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 Van Lear’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Van Lear
About 22% 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.
Van Lear and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Van Lear workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Lear | – | — | — | 21 min | $35,347 |
| West Van Lear | under 2% | B− | C− | 27 min | $66,815 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Van Lear’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Van Lear: questions
What is the median household income in Van Lear?
$35,347 (±$23,543) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Van Lear?
24.2%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Van Lear?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Van Lear work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paintsville (24%, 4 mi), Prestonsburg (16%, 7 mi), Pikeville (3%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Van Lear without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Van Lear, from the people who make the trip.
More of Van Lear
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.