Starkey School · Photo: Molly Cardenas · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Cave Spring (2.9%) than in 71% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Cave Spring for work; outside it, Roanoke is the main destination (36%, 4 miles). Cave Spring grades A− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 20 minutes, next to 27 for Virginia and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Cave Spring and work: the main findings
Cave Spring trades workers with the towns around it
Cave Spring has about as many jobs (10,486) as working residents (12,282), but they are mostly different people: 11,007 residents leave for work each day while 9,211 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in Cave Spring are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Much of Cave Spring works one town over
47% of working residents work in a town that borders Cave Spring: Roanoke (36%) and Salem (11%). Next door ↓
Most Cave Spring residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Cave Spring are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
Cave Spring draws workers from far and wide
The 10,486 jobs in Cave Spring are filled from a wide area. Cave Spring’s own residents hold 12% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Cave Spring
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cave Spring is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #110 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Cave Spring’s grade. It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cave Spring could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Who leaves Cave Spring for work, and who comes in
On a workday 11,007 residents head out to work, 1,275 work right here, and 9,211 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 (0.85 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Cave Spring
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.
Commuting from Cave Spring: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cave Spring workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,260 commuters (the 18% 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 Cave Spring’s working residents head each day
Where Cave Spring clocks in
36% of workers
11% 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 Cave Spring’s 10,486 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cave Spring, 2013 → 2023: 11,713 → 10,486. 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 Cave Spring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Cave Spring: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cave Spring is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #185 of 253 in Virginia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% of 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 13,706 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 21% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 4.2% of Cave Spring households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Cave Spring’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000, Cave Spring ranks 532nd of 1,576 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Franconia VA | 18,335 | $152K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 530 | Baldwin PA | 20,516 | $81K | 9.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A− |
| 531 | Lower Allen Township PA | 21,254 | $92K | 7.6% | 3.3% | 9% | A− |
| 532 | Cave Spring VA | 25,742 | $88K | 5.9% | 2.9% | 10% | A− |
| 533 | Maumelle AR | 19,780 | $103K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 9% | A− |
| 534 | Morristown NJ | 20,750 | $121K | 7.8% | 5.3% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Cave Spring, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Next door is work for 47% of Cave Spring
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cave Spring workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cave Spring | – | A− | B− | 20 min | $87,539 |
| Roanoke | 36% | C | A | 19 min | $55,378 |
| Salem | 11% | B | A | 19 min | $66,725 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Roanoke. Darker towns draw more of Cave Spring’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 Cave Spring: questions
What is the median household income in Cave Spring?
$87,539 (±$6,404) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cave Spring?
5.9%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cave Spring?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cave Spring work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Roanoke (36%, 4 mi), Salem (11%, 5 mi), Hollins (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cave Spring walkable?
Cave Spring is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cave Spring without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cave Spring, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cave Spring
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.