Photo: The original uploader was Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Franconia are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 40% of workers, against 18% across Virginia. Poverty touches 2.8% of residents, next to 9.9% for Virginia as a whole. Jobs and income earn Franconia A+; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Franconia, in a few figures
Franconia trades workers with the towns around it
Franconia has about as many jobs (8,776) as working residents (8,514), but they are mostly different people: 8,354 residents leave for work each day while 8,616 people come in. Only 2% of the jobs in Franconia are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Franconia works from home
40% of Franconia workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Franconia draws workers from far and wide
The 8,776 jobs in Franconia are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 23%; the other 75% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
A lot of Franconia workers cross into Washington, D.C.
18% of Franconia workers work outside Virginia, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (20%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Franconia has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Franconia went from 6,093 in 2013 to 8,776 in 2023, +44%. 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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Franconia
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Franconia is among the top U.S. towns, #18 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Franconia stays A+.
Who leaves Franconia for work, and who comes in
On a workday 8,354 residents head out to work, 160 work right here, and 8,616 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 (1.03 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 Franconia: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Franconia workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,801 commuters (the 40% 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.
20% of working residents work in Washington
Where Franconia clocks in
20% of workers
9% 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.
The kinds of work in Franconia
8,776 jobs are based in Franconia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Franconia, 2013 → 2023: 6,093 → 8,776. 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 Franconia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Franconia
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.
Franconia is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,276 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 47% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 42.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 1.7% of Franconia households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 9% of Franconia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Franconia next to U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000: 25th of 1,915 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 24 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| 25 | Franconia VA | 18,335 | $152K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 26 | Hinsdale IL | 17,573 | $250K | 2.9% | 3.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 27 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Franconia, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Around Franconia: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Springfield (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Franconia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franconia | – | A+ | A+ | 31 min | $152,474 |
| Kingstowne | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 30 min | $151,535 |
| Springfield | 7% | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $125,999 |
| Lincolnia | under 2% | A− | A+ | 28 min | $121,639 |
| Rose Hill | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $174,950 |
| Newington | under 2% | A+ | A | 30 min | $155,027 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Franconia’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 Franconia: questions
What is the median household income in Franconia?
$152,474 (±$12,801) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Franconia?
2.8%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Franconia?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 40% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Franconia work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (20%, 12 mi), Arlington (10%, 8 mi), Alexandria (9%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Franconia walkable?
Franconia is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.6 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Franconia without a car?
9% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 47% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Franconia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Franconia
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.