Most of Boston commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Hardly any stay in Boston for work; outside it, Accomac is the main destination (6%, 12 miles). 10 jobs are based in Boston for 196 working residents. For 0% of workers, the job is at home (Virginia 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Boston on a workday afternoon
On a workday 196 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.
About 0 people are in Boston 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.
The towns that employ Boston’s residents
Where Boston clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boston, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 10. 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 Boston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Boston
of Boston workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 33 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.
Where in the region Boston works
About 46% 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.
Boston and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | – | — | — | — | — |
| Pungoteague | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pungoteague: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Boston’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 Boston: questions
What is the poverty rate in Boston?
0.0%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Boston work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Accomac (6%, 12 mi), Newport News (6%, 52 mi), Exmore (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Boston 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 Boston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boston
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.