Photo: User:AlbertHerring · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Belle Haven are higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
At home: 26% of workers have no commute at all (Virginia 18%). Below the poverty line: 1.9% of residents, against 9.9% across Virginia. Jobs and income earn Belle Haven 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
What sets Belle Haven apart on work
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Belle Haven’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 34 minutes, longer than the Virginia average of 27. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Belle Haven workers cross into Washington, D.C.
25% of Belle Haven workers work outside Virginia, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (23%) and Bethesda (1%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Belle Haven
75% of Belle Haven residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Belle Haven pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Most Belle Haven residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
A lot of Belle Haven works from home
26% of Belle Haven workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. 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.
How Belle Haven earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Belle Haven is among the top U.S. towns, #17 of 253 in Virginia. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Belle Haven could be anywhere from A to A+.
From Belle Haven, about 34 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belle Haven workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,659 commuters (the 26% 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.
23% of working residents work in Washington
Where Belle Haven clocks in
23% of workers
14% 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 the 2,264 jobs in Belle Haven are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belle Haven, 2013 → 2023: 2,101 → 2,264. 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 Belle Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Belle Haven commutes less than 9 miles
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.
In and out of Belle Haven on a workday
On a workday 2,889 residents head out to work, 77 work right here, and 2,187 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,900 people are in Belle Haven on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
Getting around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,603 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 79% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 13.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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). 6.4% of Belle Haven households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Belle Haven’s commuters take a bus or train.
Belle Haven is 57th of 3,283 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 6 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | South Run VA | 6,600 | $250K | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Sharon Township OH | 6,117 | $126K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| 56 | Shady Hollow TX | 5,709 | $170K | 5.5% | 0.9% | 1% | A+ |
| 57 | Belle Haven VA | 6,570 | $141K | 1.9% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| 58 | Genesee WI | 7,235 | $119K | 3.3% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 59 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Belle Haven, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
The towns next door employ 14% of Belle Haven
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Belle Haven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Haven | – | A+ | A | 34 min | $140,574 |
| Fort Hunt | under 2% | A+ | A | 31 min | $216,038 |
| Groveton | under 2% | B | A+ | 33 min | $101,974 |
| Huntington | under 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $99,956 |
| Alexandria | 14% | A | A+ | 28 min | $119,681 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Alexandria. Darker towns draw more of Belle Haven’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 Belle Haven: questions
What is the median household income in Belle Haven?
$140,574 (±$29,189) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belle Haven?
1.9%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belle Haven?
34 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belle Haven work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (23%, 9 mi), Alexandria (14%, 3 mi), Arlington (9%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Belle Haven walkable?
Belle Haven is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belle Haven without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belle Haven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belle Haven
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.