Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Lorton are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Lorton itself; outside it, Washington draws the most (13%, 18 miles). Below the poverty line: 7.4% of residents, against 9.9% across Virginia. Jobs and income earn Lorton A−; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lorton and work: the main findings
Lorton’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lorton is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #120 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car holds Lorton’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (6.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lorton could be anywhere from B to A.
Where Lorton goes to work
Where Lorton clocks in
13% of workers
9% 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 and out of Lorton on a workday
On a workday 7,812 residents head out to work, 197 work right here, and 5,129 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Lorton on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.67 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
A place that makes things: 30% of Lorton’s jobs are in goods
5,326 jobs are based in Lorton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lorton, 2013 → 2023: 4,666 → 5,326. 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 Lorton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Lorton, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lorton workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,993 commuters (the 25% 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 Lorton’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.
Lorton is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,620 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 87% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 54% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 15.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% 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). 5.0% of Lorton households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Lorton’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Lorton is 647th of 1,705 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 645 | South Whitehall Township PA | 21,655 | $103K | 7.0% | 4.9% | 10% | A− |
| 646 | St. Simons GA | 16,228 | $109K | 4.5% | 2.8% | 30% | A− |
| 647 | Lorton VA | 20,991 | $139K | 7.4% | 6.5% | 2% | A− |
| 648 | North Lynnwood WA | 23,339 | $101K | 7.2% | 4.9% | 1% | A− |
| 649 | Sartell MN | 19,918 | $84K | 7.4% | 2.2% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | 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 Lorton, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Work in the towns next to Lorton
The biggest share goes to Newington (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lorton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorton | – | A− | A | 31 min | $138,685 |
| Newington | 3% | A+ | A | 30 min | $155,027 |
| Laurel Hill | under 2% | A+ | A | 31 min | $155,667 |
| Mason Neck | under 2% | A+ | C− | 29 min | $167,857 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lorton’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 Lorton: questions
What is the median household income in Lorton?
$138,685 (±$15,746) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lorton?
7.4%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lorton?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lorton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (13%, 18 mi), Springfield (9%, 6 mi), Arlington (8%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lorton walkable?
Lorton is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lorton without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 54% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lorton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lorton
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.