Bowstring Truss Bridge · Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 3.0A job hub: Lafayette has 3.3 jobs per working resident, and 558 people come in to work
Lafayette has 565 jobs, against 169 working residents. Only 4% work in Lafayette; the top destination outside it is Christiansburg (19%, 13 miles). 26% of workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Lafayette
On a workday 162 residents head out to work and 7 work right here.
About 1,000 people are in Lafayette on a workday afternoon, 63% more 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.
Where the people who work in Lafayette live
Where Lafayette clocks in
19% of workers
12% of workers
12% 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.
Goods jobs make up 96% of work in Lafayette
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lafayette, 2013 → 2023: 579 → 565. 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 Lafayette’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Lafayette: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lafayette workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 125 commuters (the 26% 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.
How far Lafayette’s workers travel
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.
Around Lafayette: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lafayette workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette | – | — | — | 23 min | $34,596 |
| Elliston | under 1% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Elliston: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lafayette’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 Lafayette: questions
What is the median household income in Lafayette?
$34,596 (±$8,772) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lafayette?
34.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lafayette?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lafayette work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Christiansburg (19%, 13 mi), Salem (12%, 9 mi), Blacksburg (12%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lafayette without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lafayette, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lafayette
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.