Photo: Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Fredericksburg has 2.0 jobs for every working resident: 19,781 people commute in to work
Jobs & income B−: better than 52% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #177 of 253 in Virginia.
Walkability A: more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns · #69 of 253 in Virginia.
Household incomes here are higher than in 63% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 32 minutes each way (Virginia 27, U.S. 26). About one in five work in Fredericksburg; the top destination outside it is Washington (3%, 49 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.1 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 56.3 in Arlington (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Fredericksburg, in brief
No single place dominates Fredericksburg’s commute
The biggest draw, Washington, DC, gets only 3% of working residents, and 67% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Fredericksburg residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Fredericksburg draws workers from far and wide
The 22,117 jobs in Fredericksburg are filled from a wide area. Fredericksburg’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 7%; the other 82% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fredericksburg is where the jobs are
Fredericksburg has 22,117 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Fredericksburg workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 27 across Virginia. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Fredericksburg’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fredericksburg is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #177 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car holds Fredericksburg’s grade up (ahead of 70% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.2%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fredericksburg could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Where Fredericksburg’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Fredericksburg clocks in
3% of workers
1% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Fredericksburg fills up on a workday
On a workday 8,966 residents head out to work, 2,336 work right here, and 19,781 people come in from elsewhere.
About 41,000 people are in Fredericksburg on a workday afternoon, 36% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 32 minutes each way, longer than most of Virginia
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fredericksburg workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,301 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
What the 22,117 jobs in Fredericksburg are
22,117 jobs are based in Fredericksburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fredericksburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fredericksburg, 2013 → 2023: 21,418 → 22,117. 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.
Half of Fredericksburg commutes less than 19 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 15% 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.
Fredericksburg is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fredericksburg is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #69 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Fredericksburg 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 14,806 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 9.6% of Fredericksburg households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Fredericksburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
Fredericksburg is 934th of 1,415 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 41,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Fredericksburg, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 12 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 932 | Venice FL | 30,477 | $77K | 9.2% | 4.8% | 17% | B− |
| 933 | Easley SC | 27,319 | $66K | 13.9% | 3.2% | 10% | B− |
| 934 | Fredericksburg VA | 30,393 | $86K | 13.2% | 5.1% | 21% | B− |
| 935 | Clay Township IN | 34,221 | $72K | 9.8% | 5.4% | 19% | B− |
| 936 | La Quinta CA | 39,440 | $99K | 8.8% | 7.3% | 13% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,415 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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.
Fredericksburg and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Fredericksburg’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fredericksburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fredericksburg | – | B− | A | 32 min | $86,071 |
| Falmouth | under 1% | A− | B | 31 min | $111,977 |
| Chatham Heights | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Chatham Heights: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Fredericksburg: questions
What is the median household income in Fredericksburg?
$86,071 (±$6,832) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fredericksburg?
13.2%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fredericksburg?
32 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fredericksburg work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (3%, 49 mi), Arlington (2%, 45 mi), Chantilly (1%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fredericksburg walkable?
Fredericksburg is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fredericksburg without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fredericksburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fredericksburg
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.