Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHousehold incomes in Chase City trail those of 92% of U.S. towns
2% of workers have no commute at all, where Virginia as a whole has 18%. Below the poverty line: 17.1% of residents, against 9.9% across Virginia. Chase City grades D for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Chase City
A big share show a job far from home
45% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Few Chase City 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; with 747 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Chase City’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Chase City is better than 5% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Chase City’s grade.
Unemployment (0.5%) is left out: Chase City’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Chase City could be anywhere from D− to C.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Chase City
About 45% 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.
About 26 minutes to work from Chase City
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chase City workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 955 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.
The daily commute in and out of Chase City
On a workday 687 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 657 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 (0.96 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.
9% of working residents work in Boydton
Where Chase City clocks in
9% 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.
What the 717 jobs in Chase City are
717 jobs are based in Chase City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chase City, 2013 → 2023: 911 → 717. 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 Chase City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Chase City, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chase City is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Virginia, on an EPA index of 6.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 976 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). 16.6% of Chase City households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chase City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chase City and other U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Great Falls Crossing VA | 1,414 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 12 | Sully Square VA | 2,394 | $176K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,337 | Hancock MD | 1,581 | $35K | 23.7% | 2.7% | 12% | D |
| 5,338 | Van Horn TX | 2,020 | $60K | 21.1% | 1.4% | 33% | D |
| 5,339 | Chase City VA | 2,054 | $46K | 17.1% | 0.5% | 8% | D |
| 5,340 | Jackson Township IN | 1,738 | $55K | 33.6% | 8.5% | 1% | D |
| 5,341 | South Branch Township MI | 1,779 | $52K | 16.7% | 8.0% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Chase City, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Work in the towns next to Chase City
The biggest share goes to Fairview (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chase City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase City | – | D | B | 26 min | $45,843 |
| Thynedale | 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Fairview | 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Thynedale and Fairview: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chase City’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 Chase City: questions
What is the median household income in Chase City?
$45,843 (±$7,340) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chase City?
17.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chase City?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chase City work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boydton (9%, 10 mi), South Hill (6%, 19 mi), Richmond (5%, 74 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chase City walkable?
Chase City is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chase City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chase City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chase City
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.