Photo: Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Mason Neck top those of 97% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 27% of workers; Virginia has 18%. The poverty rate is 1.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia. Mason Neck grades A+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Mason Neck: the gist
The better-paid jobs are outside Mason Neck
75% of Mason Neck residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 33% of the jobs based in Mason Neck pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Mason Neck pay little
33% of the jobs based in Mason Neck pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 35% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
A lot of Mason Neck works from home
27% of Mason Neck workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. 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 914 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Mason Neck
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mason Neck is among the top U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mason Neck could be anywhere from A to A+.
Inside Mason Neck’s 501 jobs
501 jobs are based in Mason Neck.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mason Neck, 2013 → 2023: 402 → 501. 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 Mason Neck’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Mason Neck, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mason Neck workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 736 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.
In and out of Mason Neck on a workday
On a workday 880 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 467 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Mason Neck on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.55 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.
15% of working residents work in Washington
Where Mason Neck clocks in
15% of workers
8% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Mason Neck
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.
Few in Mason Neck walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mason Neck is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Mason Neck 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 1,003 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.5% of Mason Neck households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Mason Neck’s commuters take a bus or train.
Mason Neck next to U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800: 67th of 5,793 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Great Falls Crossing VA | 1,414 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 12 | Sully Square VA | 2,394 | $176K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 66 | Loveland Park OH | 1,700 | $119K | 1.5% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| 67 | Mason Neck VA | 2,039 | $168K | 1.1% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 68 | Irwindale CA | 1,439 | $114K | 4.3% | 6.5% | 14% | A+ |
| 69 | Sea Girt NJ | 1,874 | $214K | 3.3% | 4.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Mason Neck, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Mason Neck and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Lorton (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mason Neck workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Neck | – | A+ | C− | 29 min | $167,857 |
| Lorton | 3% | A− | A | 31 min | $138,685 |
| Woodbridge | under 3% | B+ | A− | 35 min | $104,741 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mason Neck’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 Mason Neck: questions
What is the median household income in Mason Neck?
$167,857 (±$21,601) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mason Neck?
1.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mason Neck?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mason Neck work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (15%, 19 mi), Springfield (8%, 9 mi), Arlington (6%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mason Neck walkable?
Mason Neck is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mason Neck without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mason Neck, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mason Neck
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.