Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Idylwood works elsewhere
Household incomes here are higher than in 88% of U.S. towns. Idylwood has 4,208 jobs, against 8,025 working residents. The two grades for Idylwood are A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Idylwood, in brief
Most Idylwood residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Idylwood
27% of Idylwood workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Idylwood is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 8% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
The four measures behind Idylwood’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Idylwood is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #50 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Idylwood could be anywhere from A to A+.
Miles to work from Idylwood
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.
Getting to work from Idylwood takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Idylwood workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,258 commuters (the 27% 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.
Idylwood is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Idylwood, 2013 → 2023: 4,387 → 4,208. 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 Idylwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Idylwood on a workday afternoon
On a workday 7,874 residents head out to work, 151 work right here, and 4,057 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Idylwood on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
16% of working residents work in Washington
Where Idylwood clocks in
16% of workers
11% 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.
In Idylwood, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Idylwood is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #47 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Idylwood 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 9,940 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 70% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 5.2% of Idylwood households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Idylwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,103 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000, Idylwood comes 155th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 153 | Upper St. Clair Township PA | 20,466 | $163K | 2.5% | 3.5% | 8% | A+ |
| 154 | Five Forks SC | 18,656 | $142K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 155 | Idylwood VA | 17,559 | $120K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 156 | Jarvis Township IL | 16,209 | $118K | 2.1% | 2.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 157 | Buckingham Township PA | 20,757 | $190K | 3.5% | 3.3% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | 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 Idylwood, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
The towns next door employ 17% of Idylwood
The biggest share goes to Tysons (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Idylwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idylwood | – | A+ | A | 25 min | $120,109 |
| Falls Church | 2% | A | A+ | 29 min | $143,262 |
| Pimmit Hills | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 24 min | $172,880 |
| West Falls Church | under 2% | A− | A+ | 29 min | $134,978 |
| Dunn Loring | under 2% | A+ | A | 27 min | $244,265 |
| McLean | 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $250,000+ |
| Merrifield | 2% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $136,373 |
| Tysons | 11% | A | A+ | 27 min | $129,818 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Idylwood’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 Idylwood: questions
What is the median household income in Idylwood?
$120,109 (±$10,405) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Idylwood?
5.5%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Idylwood?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Idylwood work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (16%, 10 mi), Tysons (11%, 3 mi), Arlington (11%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Idylwood walkable?
Idylwood is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.1 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Idylwood without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Idylwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Idylwood
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.