Photo: Leonard J. DeFrancisci · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Dumfries (3.4%) is lower than in 63% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Dumfries is better than 82% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (A). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 56.3 in Arlington. Only 3% stay in Dumfries for work; outside it, Washington is the main destination (9%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Dumfries
Dumfries trades workers with the towns around it
Dumfries has about as many jobs (2,486) as working residents (2,294), but they are mostly different people: 2,226 residents leave for work each day while 2,418 people come in. Only 3% of the jobs in Dumfries are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Dumfries workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 27 across Virginia. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Dumfries’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Dumfries is Washington, DC, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (196) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
Where Dumfries’ Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($82,355, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dumfries could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Who commutes out of Dumfries, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,226 residents head out to work, 68 work right here, and 2,418 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 (1.08 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.
The daily trip from Dumfries: about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dumfries workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,004 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Dumfries
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 out of Dumfries: the destinations
Where Dumfries clocks in
9% 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.
Jobs in Dumfries: what the 2,486 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dumfries, 2013 → 2023: 1,959 → 2,486. 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 Dumfries’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Dumfries is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.9% 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 3,440 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 79% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 37% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 2.8% of Dumfries households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Dumfries’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Dumfries ranks: 671st of 3,255 U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 6 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | South Run VA | 6,600 | $250K | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 669 | McGregor FL | 8,490 | $105K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 5% | A− |
| 670 | Croton-on-Hudson NY | 8,282 | $192K | 3.7% | 7.2% | 10% | A− |
| 671 | Dumfries VA | 6,405 | $82K | 5.0% | 3.4% | 3% | A− |
| 672 | Dulles Town Center VA | 5,464 | $126K | 4.6% | 6.3% | 6% | A− |
| 673 | Lake Shore WA | 6,978 | $131K | 3.0% | 6.3% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,255 | 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 Dumfries, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Dumfries and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dumfries workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dumfries | – | A− | A | 36 min | $82,355 |
| Cherry Hill | under 2% | B+ | A | 41 min | $122,447 |
| Triangle | under 2% | B | B | 39 min | $109,693 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dumfries’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 Dumfries: questions
What is the median household income in Dumfries?
$82,355 (±$28,178) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dumfries?
5.0%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dumfries?
36 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dumfries work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (9%, 28 mi), Arlington (4%, 24 mi), Alexandria (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dumfries walkable?
Dumfries is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dumfries without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 37% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dumfries, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dumfries
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.