Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWith 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Blue Ridge works elsewhere
There are 121 jobs in Blue Ridge, against 1,426 working residents. Jobs and income earn Blue Ridge A−; getting around on foot earns it D−. Hardly any work in Blue Ridge; the top destination outside it is Roanoke (36%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Blue Ridge apart
Blue Ridge is a place people come home to
There are 121 jobs based in Blue Ridge, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Blue Ridge has about 1,500 people in it, 47% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Blue Ridge and Roanoke trade workers both ways
Roanoke is the top workplace for Blue Ridge residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Blue Ridge come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Blue Ridge: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blue Ridge is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #118 of 253 in Virginia. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.5%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($75,871, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blue Ridge could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Blue Ridge by day and by night
On a workday 1,422 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 117 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Blue Ridge on a workday afternoon, 47% 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.
The places Blue Ridge commutes to
Where Blue Ridge clocks in
36% of workers
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.
65% of the jobs in Blue Ridge pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blue Ridge, 2013 → 2023: 229 → 121. 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 Blue Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way for Blue Ridge’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blue Ridge workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,155 commuters (the 16% 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 Blue Ridge
About 15% 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 Blue Ridge, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blue Ridge is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns, #251 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Blue Ridge near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,376 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). 4.4% of Blue Ridge households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Blue Ridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
Blue Ridge is 849th of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Sully Square VA | 2,394 | $176K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 847 | Red Cedar WI | 2,480 | $100K | 7.2% | 1.5% | <1% | A− |
| 848 | Governors Village NC | 2,295 | $126K | 15.0% | 1.8% | 2% | A− |
| 849 | Blue Ridge VA | 2,800 | $76K | 2.5% | 2.8% | <1% | A− |
| 850 | St. Johns AZ | 3,336 | $132K | 4.8% | 0.0% | 13% | A− |
| 851 | Pioneer Village KY | 2,794 | $84K | 11.6% | 1.6% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Blue Ridge, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Around Blue Ridge: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Blue Ridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Ridge | – | A− | D− | 23 min | $75,871 |
| Laymantown | under 2% | A | D | 23 min | $88,401 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Blue Ridge’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 Blue Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Blue Ridge?
$75,871 (±$15,702) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blue Ridge?
2.5%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blue Ridge?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blue Ridge work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Roanoke (36%, 10 mi), Salem (7%, 14 mi), Hollins (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blue Ridge walkable?
Blue Ridge is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blue Ridge without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blue Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blue Ridge
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.