Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Clifton Forge has lower household incomes than 96% of U.S. towns
15.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 9.9% across Virginia. The two grades for Clifton Forge are C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 6% of workers work from home (Virginia 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Clifton Forge in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Clifton Forge than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Clifton Forge fell from 813 in 2013 to 592 in 2023, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% 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 ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Clifton Forge’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clifton Forge is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #230 of 253 in Virginia. Unemployment holds Clifton Forge’s grade up (2.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($40,000, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clifton Forge could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
592 jobs are based in Clifton Forge.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clifton Forge, 2013 → 2023: 813 → 592. 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 Clifton Forge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Clifton Forge works
About 32% 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.
Clifton Forge by day and by night
On a workday 1,188 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 468 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Clifton Forge on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.45 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.
12% of working residents work in Covington
Where Clifton Forge clocks in
12% of workers
4% 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.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Clifton Forge
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clifton Forge workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,001 commuters (the 6% 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.
In Clifton Forge, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clifton Forge is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #187 of 253 in Virginia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,062 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% 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 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 16.9% of Clifton Forge households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Clifton Forge’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Clifton Forge ranks: 3,389th of 4,402 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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+ |
| 33 | Navy VA | 3,839 | $239K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,387 | Thruston KY | 2,581 | $70K | 21.6% | 6.5% | 1% | C− |
| 3,388 | Eldorado IL | 3,579 | $37K | 22.4% | 1.7% | 21% | C− |
| 3,389 | Clifton Forge VA | 3,372 | $40K | 15.1% | 2.0% | 9% | C− |
| 3,390 | Blackstone VA | 3,389 | $55K | 26.6% | 2.4% | 13% | C− |
| 3,391 | Idyllwild-Pine Cove CA | 3,957 | $74K | 12.3% | 5.0% | 27% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | 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 Clifton Forge, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Clifton Forge and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Selma (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clifton Forge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Forge | – | C− | B− | 23 min | $40,000 |
| Selma | 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Selma: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clifton Forge’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 Clifton Forge: questions
What is the median household income in Clifton Forge?
$40,000 (±$16,298) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clifton Forge?
15.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clifton Forge?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clifton Forge work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Covington (12%, 9 mi), Roanoke (4%, 38 mi), Selma (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clifton Forge walkable?
Clifton Forge is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 12.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clifton Forge without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clifton Forge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clifton Forge
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.