Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0At 0.6%, unemployment in Lexington is lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
About two in five stay in Lexington for work; outside it, Roanoke is the main destination (3%, 45 miles). The two grades for Lexington are B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 56.3 in Arlington.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lexington: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Lexington are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
Lexington is where the jobs are
Lexington has 5,537 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 11,000 people are in town, 43% more than the 7,800 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Lexington is services
92% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 1% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Lexington draws workers from far and wide
The 5,537 jobs in Lexington are filled from a wide area. Lexington’s own residents hold 17% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Lexington has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lexington went from 3,733 in 2013 to 5,537 in 2023, +48%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Lexington’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lexington is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #168 of 253 in Virginia. Unemployment holds Lexington’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (14.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lexington could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
About 13 minutes to work from Lexington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lexington workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,516 commuters (the 14% 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 a workday changes Lexington
On a workday 1,233 residents head out to work, 967 work right here, and 4,570 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Lexington on a workday afternoon, 43% more than live here.
2.5 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.
In Lexington, services account for most jobs
5,537 jobs are based in Lexington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lexington, 2013 → 2023: 3,733 → 5,537. 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 Lexington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the people who work in Lexington live
Where Lexington clocks in
3% 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.
How many miles Lexington commutes
About 30% 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.
Lexington is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lexington is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #1 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Lexington 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 2,941 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 83% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 46% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 12.6% of Lexington households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lexington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,091 U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,500, Lexington comes 1,538th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 6 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Difficult Run VA | 9,938 | $250K | 1.4% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,536 | Brewer ME | 9,636 | $67K | 12.5% | 1.4% | 17% | B |
| 1,537 | Milford OH | 6,436 | $78K | 9.9% | 5.2% | 6% | B |
| 1,538 | Lexington VA | 7,769 | $85K | 14.0% | 0.6% | 44% | B |
| 1,539 | Withamsville OH | 7,429 | $72K | 13.7% | 3.1% | 2% | B |
| 1,540 | Sullivan Township IL | 6,229 | $69K | 8.0% | 1.8% | 27% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,091 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Lexington, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Around Lexington: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to East Lexington (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lexington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington | – | B | A+ | 13 min | $84,517 |
| East Lexington | 2% | B− | C | 18 min | $64,241 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lexington’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 Lexington: questions
What is the median household income in Lexington?
$84,517 (±$16,517) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lexington?
14.0%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lexington?
13 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lexington work?
44% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Roanoke (3%, 45 mi), Buena Vista (3%, 6 mi), East Lexington (2%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lexington walkable?
Lexington is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.5 out of 20, and 30% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lexington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 46% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lexington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lexington
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.