Photo: self · CC BY 3.0Households in Blackstone have lower incomes than those in 82% of U.S. towns
2% of workers have no commute at all (Virginia 18%). 26.6% of residents are in poverty, against 9.9% across Virginia. Blackstone grades C− for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Blackstone stands out on work
Blackstone trades workers with the towns around it
Blackstone has about as many jobs (1,513) as working residents (1,460), but they are mostly different people: 1,265 residents leave for work each day while 1,318 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Blackstone are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Blackstone workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Blackstone
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blackstone is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #232 of 253 in Virginia. Unemployment holds Blackstone’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blackstone could be anywhere from D to B−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Blackstone
On a workday 1,265 residents head out to work, 195 work right here, and 1,318 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 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.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Blackstone
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blackstone workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,258 commuters (the 2% 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.
7% of working residents work in Richmond
Where Blackstone clocks in
7% of workers
3% 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.
Inside Blackstone’s 1,513 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blackstone, 2013 → 2023: 1,369 → 1,513. 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 Blackstone’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Blackstone goes to work
About 24% 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.
In Blackstone, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blackstone is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns, #237 of 253 in Virginia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Virginia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,289 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.1% of Blackstone households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Blackstone’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,402 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600, Blackstone comes 3,390th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 33 | Navy VA | 3,839 | $239K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,388 | Eldorado IL | 3,579 | $37K | 22.4% | 1.7% | 21% | C− |
| 3,389 | Clifton Forge VA | 3,372 | $40K | 15.1% | 2.0% | 9% | C− |
| 3,390 | Blackstone VA | 3,389 | $55K | 26.6% | 2.4% | 13% | C− |
| 3,391 | Idyllwild-Pine Cove CA | 3,957 | $74K | 12.3% | 5.0% | 27% | C− |
| 3,392 | Vienna GA | 2,961 | $58K | 13.2% | 4.1% | 20% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | 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 Blackstone, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
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 Blackstone: questions
What is the median household income in Blackstone?
$54,570 (±$19,131) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blackstone?
26.6%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blackstone?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blackstone work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richmond (7%, 42 mi), Farmville (3%, 26 mi), Burkeville (2%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blackstone walkable?
Blackstone is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blackstone without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blackstone, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blackstone
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.