Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBig Island has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 15 jobs in Big Island, against 115 working residents. Only 2% stay in Big Island for work; outside it, Bedford is the main destination (23%, 16 miles). Home is the office for 0% of workers, where Virginia as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Big Island: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 113 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 13 people come in from elsewhere.
About 0 people are in Big Island on a workday afternoon, 100% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Big Island to work: where people go
Where Big Island clocks in
23% of workers
6% 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.
Jobs in Big Island: what the 15 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Island, 2013 → 2023: 23 → 15. 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 Big Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Big Island
of Big Island workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 45 commuters (the 0% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Big Island
About 20% 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.
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 Big Island: questions
What is the poverty rate in Big Island?
0.0%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Big Island work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bedford (23%, 16 mi), Lynchburg (18%, 13 mi), Roanoke (6%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Big Island without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Island
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.