With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of North Shore works elsewhere
Employers in North Shore report 264 jobs, and 1,006 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for North Shore are B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in North Shore
Home offices are common in North Shore
29% of North Shore workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
North Shore is a place people come home to
There are 264 jobs based in North Shore, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
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.
The four measures behind North Shore’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Shore is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #180 of 253 in Virginia. Household income holds North Shore’s grade up ($109,951, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 23% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Shore could be anywhere from C− to A.
A commute of about 31 minutes in North Shore
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Shore workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 920 commuters (the 29% 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 North Shore on a workday
On a workday 975 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 233 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in North Shore on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer 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.
18% of working residents work in Roanoke
Where North Shore clocks in
18% 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.
What North Shore’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Shore, 2013 → 2023: 274 → 264. 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 North Shore’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from North Shore
About 19% 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.
Most of North Shore commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Shore is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #242 of 253 in Virginia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Virginia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,302 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). 1.7% of North Shore households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of North Shore’s commuters take a bus or train.
North Shore is 2,280th of 4,474 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Navy VA | 3,839 | $239K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Kings Park VA | 4,315 | $166K | 1.9% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,278 | Jamestown Township IN | 3,263 | $76K | 6.1% | 5.2% | 5% | B− |
| 2,279 | Tulpehocken Township PA | 3,703 | $82K | 13.5% | 4.6% | 4% | B− |
| 2,280 | North Shore VA | 3,638 | $110K | 10.3% | 4.6% | 3% | B− |
| 2,281 | Boulevard Park WA | 4,575 | $79K | 28.0% | 4.6% | 2% | B− |
| 2,282 | Jefferson ME | 2,728 | $85K | 3.4% | 5.9% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,474 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 North Shore, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
The towns around North Shore
The biggest share goes to Westlake Corner (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Shore workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Shore | – | B− | C− | 31 min | $109,951 |
| Westlake Corner | 9% | A− | C | 23 min | $95,000 |
| Union Hall | under 2% | B+ | D | 33 min | $103,125 |
| Penhook | under 2% | B+ | B | 41 min | $108,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of North Shore’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 North Shore: questions
What is the median household income in North Shore?
$109,951 (±$13,905) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Shore?
10.3%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Shore?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Shore work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Roanoke (18%, 22 mi), Rocky Mount (9%, 14 mi), Westlake Corner (9%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Shore walkable?
North Shore is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Shore without a car?
0% 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 North Shore, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Shore
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.