Photo: Elvert Barnes · CC BY-SA 2.0McNair’s household incomes are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 6.1% (Virginia 9.9%). McNair grades A+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Home is the office for 31% of workers, next to 18% for Virginia as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in McNair
McNair is where the jobs are
McNair has 30,848 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 42,000 people are in town, 84% more than the 23,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
McNair draws workers from far and wide
The 30,848 jobs in McNair are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 23%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in McNair
31% of McNair workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
77% of McNair’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 91% of the jobs based in McNair. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in McNair is services
91% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in McNair
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, McNair is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #46 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, McNair could be anywhere from A to A+.
How a workday changes McNair
On a workday 10,964 residents head out to work, 925 work right here, and 29,923 people come in from elsewhere.
About 42,000 people are in McNair on a workday afternoon, 84% more than live here.
2.6 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.
Where McNair’s workforce comes from
Where McNair clocks in
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.
From McNair, about 25 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McNair workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,612 commuters (the 31% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in McNair
30,848 jobs are based in McNair.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McNair, 2013 → 2023: 24,953 → 30,848. 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 McNair’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far McNair’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.
McNair is more walkable than 97% 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 13,899 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 8.6% of McNair households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of McNair’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000, McNair ranks 108th of 1,712 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Franconia VA | 18,335 | $152K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | Upper Saucon Township PA | 18,217 | $146K | 4.5% | 2.5% | 10% | A+ |
| 107 | West Goshen Township PA | 24,224 | $132K | 5.4% | 2.4% | 12% | A+ |
| 108 | McNair VA | 22,655 | $123K | 6.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| 109 | Wilmette IL | 27,459 | $191K | 3.2% | 4.2% | 7% | A+ |
| 110 | Mineola NY | 21,376 | $138K | 5.3% | 3.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | 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 McNair, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Work next door: 13% of McNair’s workers
The biggest share goes to Reston (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of McNair’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 McNair: questions
What is the median household income in McNair?
$122,778 (±$10,631) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McNair?
6.1%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McNair?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McNair work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reston (10%, 3 mi), Tysons (8%, 10 mi), Arlington (7%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is McNair walkable?
McNair is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.0 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McNair without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McNair, from the people who make the trip.
More of McNair
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.