Photo: Mbinebri / Matthew Binebrink · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Chincoteague (6.5%) than in 78% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Chincoteague itself; outside it, Accomac draws the most (5%, 24 miles). Chincoteague grades C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The trip to work takes 17 minutes on average, where Virginia has 27 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Chincoteague stands out on work
Commutes from Chincoteague are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
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 ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Chincoteague
50% of Chincoteague residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 27% of the jobs based in Chincoteague pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 74% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Chincoteague pay little
26% of the jobs based in Chincoteague pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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.
Chincoteague’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chincoteague is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #240 of 253 in Virginia. The poverty rate holds Chincoteague’s grade up (10.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chincoteague could be anywhere from D− to B+.
Each way, about 17 minutes from Chincoteague
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chincoteague workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,077 commuters (the 13% 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 Chincoteague, by distance
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.
Jobs in Chincoteague: what the 945 are
945 jobs are based in Chincoteague.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chincoteague, 2013 → 2023: 929 → 945. 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 Chincoteague’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Chincoteague on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,182 residents head out to work, 416 work right here, and 529 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Chincoteague on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.59 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 Chincoteague work
Where Chincoteague clocks in
5% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Chincoteague is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Virginia, on an EPA index of 7.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,244 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). 1.6% of Chincoteague households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chincoteague’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Chincoteague ranks: 3,807th of 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,805 | Silver Creek NY | 2,575 | $64K | 21.5% | 6.7% | 8% | C− |
| 3,806 | North East PA | 4,018 | $69K | 19.2% | 9.2% | 18% | C− |
| 3,807 | Chincoteague VA | 3,309 | $63K | 10.2% | 6.5% | 26% | C− |
| 3,808 | Woodward Township PA | 3,911 | $62K | 15.5% | 4.9% | 5% | C− |
| 3,809 | East St. Clair Township PA | 2,922 | $42K | 17.6% | 4.1% | 8% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Chincoteague, 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 Chincoteague: questions
What is the median household income in Chincoteague?
$62,917 (±$18,324) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chincoteague?
10.2%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chincoteague?
17 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chincoteague work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Accomac (5%, 24 mi), Salisbury (3%, 32 mi), Chesapeake (3%, 102 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chincoteague walkable?
Chincoteague is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chincoteague without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chincoteague, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chincoteague
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.