Household incomes in Fairlawn trail those of 63% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 4.9%, where Virginia as a whole has 9.9%. For jobs and income Fairlawn is better than 58% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (C+). 2% of workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Fairlawn: the figures worth knowing
Fairlawn trades workers with the towns around it
Fairlawn has about as many jobs (931) as working residents (1,035), but they are mostly different people: 1,008 residents leave for work each day while 904 people come in. Only 3% of the jobs in Fairlawn are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fairlawn has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Fairlawn went from 492 in 2013 to 931 in 2023, +89%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Fairlawn
58% of Fairlawn residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 28% of the jobs based in Fairlawn pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Few Fairlawn 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 ↓
Many jobs in Fairlawn pay little
30% of the jobs based in Fairlawn pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 33% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Fairlawn’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Fairlawn’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($66,918, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairlawn could be anywhere from C to A−.
Who leaves Fairlawn for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,008 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 904 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 (0.90 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.
Jobs in Fairlawn: what the 931 are
931 jobs are based in Fairlawn.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairlawn, 2013 → 2023: 492 → 931. 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 Fairlawn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 22 minutes in Fairlawn
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairlawn workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,041 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.
19% of working residents work in Blacksburg
Where Fairlawn clocks in
19% of workers
12% of workers
12% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Fairlawn
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.
Few in Fairlawn walk, bike or ride to work
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 1,063 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 34% 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 8.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 0.0% of Fairlawn households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fairlawn’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fairlawn is 1,900th of 5,401 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,400
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Sully Square VA | 2,394 | $176K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,898 | Pere Marquette Township MI | 2,371 | $85K | 5.9% | 3.3% | 11% | B |
| 1,899 | Oronoco Township MN | 2,491 | $124K | 6.7% | 8.9% | 2% | B |
| 1,900 | Fairlawn VA | 2,488 | $67K | 4.9% | 3.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,901 | Davis Junction IL | 2,566 | $108K | 8.7% | 6.1% | 1% | B |
| 1,902 | Avon MN | 1,777 | $92K | 9.8% | 2.6% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,401 | 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 Fairlawn, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
The towns next door employ 12% of Fairlawn
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Radford. Darker towns draw more of Fairlawn’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 Fairlawn: questions
What is the median household income in Fairlawn?
$66,918 (±$8,223) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairlawn?
4.9%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairlawn?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairlawn work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Blacksburg (19%, 8 mi), Radford (12%, 2 mi), Christiansburg (12%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairlawn walkable?
Fairlawn is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairlawn without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairlawn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairlawn
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.