Photo: Bonita L. Harless · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in West Jefferson trail those of 91% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 10% of workers; North Carolina has 16%. 20.8% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 13.0% for North Carolina as a whole. The two grades for West Jefferson are D− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in West Jefferson: the gist
West Jefferson fills up on a workday
West Jefferson has 2,017 jobs, 3.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 2,800 people are in town, more than double the 1,300 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from West Jefferson are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 564 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why West Jefferson gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, West Jefferson is better than 4% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides West Jefferson’s grade.
Unemployment (12.7%) is left out: West Jefferson’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, West Jefferson could be anywhere from D− to C−.
West Jefferson by day and by night
On a workday 492 residents head out to work, 72 work right here, and 1,945 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in West Jefferson on a workday afternoon, 108% more than live here.
3.6 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.
Commuting from West Jefferson: about 16 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Jefferson workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 489 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across North Carolina: 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.
Half of West Jefferson commutes less than 17 miles
About 30% 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.
Who travels to work in West Jefferson, and from where
Where West Jefferson clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
What work there is in West Jefferson: 2,017 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 1,451 → 2,017. 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 Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: West Jefferson
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Jefferson is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place West Jefferson near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 544 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). 10.1% of West Jefferson households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Jefferson’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Jefferson and other U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 233 | Northlakes NC | 1,716 | $101K | 2.0% | 1.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,946 | Wolfhurst OH | 1,058 | $29K | 33.3% | 19.7% | 2% | D− |
| 4,947 | Steele MO | 1,692 | $55K | 24.4% | 16.0% | 12% | D− |
| 4,948 | West Jefferson NC | 1,348 | $47K | 20.8% | 12.7% | 13% | D− |
| 4,949 | Rush Springs OK | 1,020 | $45K | 25.6% | 3.7% | 8% | D− |
| 4,950 | Rotan TX | 1,333 | $53K | 19.4% | 4.2% | 28% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Jefferson, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
15% of West Jefferson works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Jefferson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Jefferson | – | D− | A− | 16 min | $46,827 |
| Jefferson | 15% | D− | C+ | 20 min | $40,590 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Jefferson. Darker towns draw more of West Jefferson’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 West Jefferson: questions
What is the median household income in West Jefferson?
$46,827 (±$20,727) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Jefferson?
20.8%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Jefferson?
16 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Jefferson work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jefferson (15%, 3 mi), Boone (9%, 15 mi), Charlotte (3%, 89 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Jefferson walkable?
West Jefferson is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Jefferson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Jefferson
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.