Photo: LR6 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Independence earn less than those in 96% of U.S. towns
For 10% of workers, the job is at home; Virginia has 18%. 23.6% of residents live below the poverty line; Virginia has 9.9%. Jobs and income earn Independence D−; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Independence, in a few figures
Independence fills up on a workday
Independence has 1,707 jobs, 5.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 2,400 people are in town, more than double the 1,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Independence are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia 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; with 317 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Independence’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, Independence is better than 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Independence’s grade.
Unemployment (4.8%) is left out: Independence’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Independence could be anywhere from D− to D.
In and out of Independence on a workday
On a workday 262 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 1,652 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Independence on a workday afternoon, 139% more than live here.
5.4 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 2023, primary jobs.
Independence’s commute, mile by mile
About 34% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
How long Independence spends getting to work: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Independence workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 298 commuters (the 10% 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.
Who travels to work in Independence, and from where
Where Independence clocks in
11% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
Inside Independence’s 1,707 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Independence, 2013 → 2023: 1,164 → 1,707. 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 Independence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Independence, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Independence is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, the same share as across Virginia, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 332 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). 4.4% of Independence households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Independence’s commuters take a bus or train.
Independence next to U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Occoquan VA | 1,078 | $134K | 2.1% | 5.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Kincora VA | 1,008 | $134K | 8.8% | 6.3% | 0% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | Ruckersville VA | 1,399 | $102K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,979 | Culver IN | 1,256 | $43K | 36.7% | 6.8% | 18% | D− |
| 2,980 | Linden TN | 1,161 | $48K | 26.6% | 3.8% | 26% | D− |
| 2,981 | Independence VA | 1,000 | $39K | 23.6% | 4.8% | 17% | D− |
| 2,982 | Stampers Creek Township IN | 1,024 | $51K | 55.0% | 0.0% | <1% | D− |
| 2,983 | Wirt NY | 1,005 | $42K | 21.2% | 5.3% | 1% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Independence, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
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 Independence: questions
What is the median household income in Independence?
$39,286 (±$18,141) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Independence?
23.6%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Independence?
19 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Independence work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Galax (11%, 13 mi), Wytheville (5%, 23 mi), Sparta (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Independence walkable?
Independence is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Independence without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Independence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Independence
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.