Most of Big Rock commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers, against 18% across Virginia. 27 jobs are based in Big Rock; 53 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Big Rock; the top destination outside it is Elkhorn City (8%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Big Rock for work, and who comes in
On a workday 53 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 27 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Big Rock’s residents
Where Big Rock clocks in
8% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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 Big Rock’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Rock, 2013 → 2023: 4 → 27. 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 Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Big Rock
of Big Rock workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 76 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Big Rock
About 43% 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.
- Two counts of out-of-state work. The Census survey asks workers where they work: 0% of Big Rock workers work outside Virginia. The job records count 21% at employers in other states. The records use the address the employer reports and skip the self-employed, so the two can differ.
- 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 Rock: questions
What is the median household income in Big Rock?
$55,049 (±$11,459) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Rock?
12.8%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Big Rock work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elkhorn City (8%, 9 mi), Bristol (4%, 51 mi), Pikeville (2%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Big Rock 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 Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Rock
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.