Photo: Orsen · CC BY-SA 3.0How Virgin works: jobs, income and commuting
A typical one-way commute lasts 28 minutes (Utah 22, U.S. 26). Only 5% work in Virgin; the top destination outside it is St. George (18%, 22 miles). 369 jobs are based in Virgin for 244 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Virgin apart
Virgin’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Virgin is St. George, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (45) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
36% of the jobs based in Virgin are held by workers 29 or younger, against 29% of Virgin’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Virgin workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Utah. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 244 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Short hops and long hauls from Virgin
About 19% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Virgin
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Virgin, 2013 → 2023: 112 → 369. 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 Virgin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Virgin spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Virgin workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 159 commuters (the 22% who work from home are left out). Across Utah: 82% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
A workday in Virgin: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 233 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 358 people come in from elsewhere.
About 840 people are in Virgin on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
1.5 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.
Where the people who work in Virgin live
Where Virgin clocks in
18% of workers
12% 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 towns around Virgin
The biggest share goes to La Verkin (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Virgin’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 Virgin: questions
What is the median household income in Virgin?
$70,625 (±$21,786) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Virgin?
22.0%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Virgin?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Virgin work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. George (18%, 22 mi), Springdale (14%, 11 mi), Hurricane (12%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Virgin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Virgin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Virgin
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.