Parker, Col. Josiah, Family Cemetery · Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0Carrollton has higher unemployment (9.7%) than 94% of U.S. towns
Only 3% stay in Carrollton for work; outside it, Newport News is the main destination (24%, 9 miles). Jobs and income earn Carrollton B; getting around on foot earns it B−. Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Carrollton: the figures worth knowing
The better-paid jobs are outside Carrollton
67% of Carrollton residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 33% of the jobs based in Carrollton pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Carrollton has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Carrollton went from 519 in 2013 to 841 in 2023, +62%. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Carrollton pay little
31% of the jobs based in Carrollton pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 34% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Carrollton is a place people come home to
There are 841 jobs based in Carrollton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Carrollton has about 6,200 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Carrollton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carrollton is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #162 of 253 in Virginia. Household income holds Carrollton’s grade up ($110,956, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Carrollton could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The kinds of work in Carrollton
841 jobs are based in Carrollton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carrollton, 2013 → 2023: 519 → 841. 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 Carrollton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Carrollton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 3,022 residents head out to work, 104 work right here, and 737 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Carrollton on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.27 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Carrollton work
Where Carrollton clocks in
24% of workers
10% of workers
8% 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.
Commuting from Carrollton: about 26 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carrollton workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,396 commuters (the 14% 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.
The commute from Carrollton, by distance
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.
For most of Carrollton, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carrollton is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #196 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Carrollton 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 3,951 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.0% of Carrollton households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Carrollton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Carrollton is 1,442nd among 2,981 U.S. towns of 5,900 to 11,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 5 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Difficult Run VA | 9,938 | $250K | 1.4% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,440 | Woodside Township IL | 11,300 | $73K | 11.6% | 3.0% | 5% | B |
| 1,441 | Perry Township IN | 7,046 | $73K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 15% | B |
| 1,442 | Carrollton VA | 8,436 | $111K | 6.8% | 9.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,443 | Sandwich IL | 7,380 | $81K | 10.3% | 3.2% | 13% | B |
| 1,444 | Green Lake Township MI | 6,822 | $93K | 8.1% | 3.1% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,981 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Carrollton, 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 Carrollton: questions
What is the median household income in Carrollton?
$110,956 (±$13,874) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carrollton?
6.8%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carrollton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carrollton work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Newport News (24%, 9 mi), Hampton (10%, 14 mi), Chesapeake (8%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Carrollton walkable?
Carrollton is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carrollton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carrollton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carrollton
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.