Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Hillsville (9.9%) is higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 77% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Hillsville is better than 7% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (B+). 1% of workers have no commute at all, against 18% across Virginia.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Hillsville: the figures worth knowing
Hillsville is where the jobs are
Hillsville has 2,556 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,300 people are in town, 52% more than the 2,800 who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Hillsville workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Hillsville than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hillsville fell from 3,414 in 2014 to 2,556 in 2024, −25%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Hillsville’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Hillsville’s grade up (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hillsville could be anywhere from D− to B.
Who works in Hillsville, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 887 residents head out to work, 194 work right here, and 2,362 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Hillsville on a workday afternoon, 52% more than live here.
2.4 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 2024, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Hillsville: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hillsville workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 991 commuters (the 1% 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.
Jobs in Hillsville: what the 2,556 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hillsville, 2014 → 2024: 3,414 → 2,556. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hillsville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to Hillsville: where workers come from
Where Hillsville clocks in
11% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
Miles to work from Hillsville
About 22% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Hillsville walk, bike or ride to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Virginia, on an EPA index of 7.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 998 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.1% of Hillsville households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hillsville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hillsville next to U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Sully Square VA | 2,394 | $176K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,308 | Warsaw NY | 3,592 | $55K | 22.4% | 9.0% | 27% | D |
| 4,309 | Johnson City TX | 2,127 | $49K | 15.7% | 8.3% | 19% | D |
| 4,310 | Hillsville VA | 2,836 | $58K | 22.4% | 9.9% | 18% | D |
| 4,311 | Perry Township OH | 2,014 | $54K | 45.2% | 1.6% | 1% | D |
| 4,312 | Nice CA | 2,569 | $52K | 16.0% | 6.0% | 13% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 Hillsville, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
The towns around Hillsville
The biggest share goes to Woodlawn (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hillsville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsville | – | D | B+ | 27 min | $58,000 |
| Woodlawn | 2% | B | D | 22 min | $78,405 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hillsville’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 2024, 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 Hillsville: questions
What is the median household income in Hillsville?
$58,000 (±$12,864) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hillsville?
22.4%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hillsville?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hillsville work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Galax (11%, 12 mi), Wytheville (3%, 24 mi), Independence (2%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Hillsville walkable?
Hillsville is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hillsville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hillsville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hillsville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.