Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAt 3.3%, unemployment in La Vale is lower than in 65% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 20 minutes each way, next to 31 for Maryland and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for La Vale are B+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten stay in La Vale for work; outside it, Cumberland is the main destination (31%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in La Vale
Commutes from La Vale are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 31 across Maryland. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maryland worker. Time on the road ↓
Most La Vale residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside La Vale
54% of La Vale residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 26% of the jobs based in La Vale pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
La Vale and Cumberland trade workers both ways
Cumberland is the top workplace for La Vale residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in La Vale come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Many jobs in La Vale pay little
30% of the jobs based in La Vale pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 35% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Why La Vale gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Vale is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #177 of 261 in Maryland. The poverty rate holds La Vale’s grade up (4.6%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 44% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Vale could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Getting to work from La Vale takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Vale workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,798 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Half of La Vale commutes less than 4 miles
About 21% 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.
Inside La Vale’s 2,259 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Vale, 2013 → 2023: 2,365 → 2,259. 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 La Vale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of La Vale: the destinations
Where La Vale clocks in
31% of workers
5% 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.
The daily commute in and out of La Vale
On a workday 1,494 residents head out to work, 164 work right here, and 2,095 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in La Vale on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Few in La Vale walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Vale is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #201 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,085 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 77% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.5% of La Vale households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Vale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,195 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,700, La Vale comes 1,399th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Fulton MD | 5,677 | $222K | 0.7% | 1.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Riva MD | 4,976 | $176K | 1.1% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Brown Station MD | 3,451 | $169K | 3.3% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,397 | White Township NJ | 4,706 | $76K | 8.6% | 1.5% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,398 | Elkrun Township OH | 4,299 | $81K | 9.5% | 1.8% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,399 | La Vale MD | 4,196 | $78K | 4.6% | 3.3% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,400 | Russell KY | 3,628 | $76K | 4.7% | 3.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,401 | Crystal City MO | 4,694 | $73K | 11.4% | 2.2% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,195 | 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 La Vale, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
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 La Vale: questions
What is the median household income in La Vale?
$77,500 (±$9,122) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Vale?
4.6%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Vale?
20 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Vale work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cumberland (31%, 4 mi), Frostburg (5%, 6 mi), Cresaptown (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Vale walkable?
La Vale is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 11.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Vale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Vale, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Vale
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.