Photo: Brookeln · Public domainHouseholds in Countryside have higher incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
4.8% of residents live below the poverty line; Virginia has 9.9%. The two grades for Countryside are A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. For 28% of workers, the job is at home (Virginia 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Countryside, in brief
No single place dominates Countryside’s commute
The biggest draw, Reston, gets only 7% of working residents, and 58% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Countryside residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Countryside
28% of Countryside workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Countryside is services
90% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Countryside empties out on a workday
About 5,900 people are in Countryside on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than the 9,700 who live here: 5,400 head out to work and 1,600 come in. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Countryside
71% of Countryside residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Countryside pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. 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.
Why Countryside gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Countryside is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #94 of 253 in Virginia. Household income holds Countryside’s grade up ($148,810, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Countryside could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
7% of working residents work in Reston
Where Countryside clocks in
5% 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.
From Countryside, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Countryside workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,675 commuters (the 28% 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.
Countryside is a services town
1,715 jobs are based in Countryside.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Countryside, 2013 → 2023: 1,766 → 1,715. 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 Countryside’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Countryside for work, and who comes in
On a workday 5,392 residents head out to work, 81 work right here, and 1,634 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,900 people are in Countryside on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.31 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.
Half of Countryside commutes less than 13 miles
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.
Most trips from Countryside start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Countryside is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #178 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Countryside 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 5,121 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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 Countryside households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Countryside’s commuters take a bus or train.
Countryside next to U.S. towns of 6,800 to 13,000: 618th of 2,751 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Difficult Run VA | 9,938 | $250K | 1.4% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Belmont VA | 9,729 | $243K | 2.1% | 1.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Long Branch VA | 7,034 | $185K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 616 | Lindale TX | 7,385 | $83K | 4.6% | 0.6% | 9% | A− |
| 617 | Laurel FL | 11,741 | $92K | 5.6% | 1.6% | 6% | A− |
| 618 | Countryside VA | 9,661 | $149K | 4.8% | 5.8% | 1% | A− |
| 619 | Downingtown PA | 8,384 | $96K | 5.6% | 3.7% | 6% | A− |
| 620 | New Durham Township IN | 8,194 | $89K | 5.9% | 1.5% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,751 | 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 Countryside, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
How Countryside compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Countryside workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countryside | – | A− | B | 27 min | $148,810 |
| Cascades | under 3% | A | A− | 28 min | $167,171 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Countryside’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 Countryside: questions
What is the median household income in Countryside?
$148,810 (±$13,390) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Countryside?
4.8%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Countryside?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Countryside work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reston (7%, 8 mi), Washington (5%, 24 mi), Ashburn (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Countryside walkable?
Countryside is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Countryside without a car?
2% 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 Countryside, from the people who make the trip.
More of Countryside
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.