Arcola Slave Quarters · Photo: Cecouchman · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Arcola are higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
For 41% of workers, the job is at home, against 18% across Virginia. 7.1% of residents are in poverty; Virginia has 9.9%. Jobs and income earn Arcola A; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Arcola, in brief
Jobs in Arcola have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Arcola went from 666 in 2013 to 2,690 in 2023, +304%. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Arcola
41% of Arcola workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Arcola is where the jobs are
Arcola has 2,690 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Arcola
76% of Arcola residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 58% of the jobs based in Arcola pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Arcola
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Arcola is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #59 of 253 in Virginia. Household income is its strongest input ($129,116, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Arcola could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
What work there is in Arcola: 2,690 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arcola, 2013 → 2023: 666 → 2,690. 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 Arcola’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Arcola spends getting to work: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arcola workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 995 commuters (the 41% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of Arcola on a workday
On a workday 1,478 residents head out to work, 47 work right here, and 2,643 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in Arcola on a workday afternoon, 33% more than live here.
1.8 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 in to Arcola: where workers come from
Where Arcola clocks in
7% 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 it is to work from Arcola
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.
Arcola is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,685 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.4% of Arcola households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Arcola’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,700, Arcola ranks 257th of 4,221 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 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Navy VA | 3,839 | $239K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Kings Park VA | 4,315 | $166K | 1.9% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 255 | Dousman WI | 2,665 | $97K | 5.0% | 1.0% | 5% | A |
| 256 | Franklin Township IN | 4,223 | $96K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A |
| 257 | Arcola VA | 3,509 | $129K | 7.1% | 1.7% | 3% | A |
| 258 | Sherman IL | 4,644 | $149K | 2.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A |
| 259 | Fayetteville NY | 4,126 | $128K | 5.2% | 1.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,221 | 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 Arcola, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
How Arcola compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Arcola workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcola | – | A | A | 25 min | $129,116 |
| Brambleton | under 3% | A+ | A | 37 min | $238,018 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Arcola’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 Arcola: questions
What is the median household income in Arcola?
$129,116 (±$30,096) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arcola?
7.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arcola?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 41% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arcola work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reston (8%, 10 mi), Washington (7%, 28 mi), Arlington (6%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arcola walkable?
Arcola is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arcola without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Arcola, from the people who make the trip.
More of Arcola
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.