Photo: Eli Christman (user Gamma Man) · CC BY 2.0Norton’s household incomes are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Norton for work; outside it, Wise is the main destination (13%, 4 miles). Poverty touches 26.3% of residents, against 9.9% across Virginia. The two grades for Norton are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Norton stands out on work
Norton is where the jobs are
Norton has 3,293 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,400 people are in town, 54% more than the 3,500 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Norton are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia worker. 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.
Inside Norton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norton is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #243 of 253 in Virginia. Unemployment holds Norton’s grade up (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($41,495, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norton could be anywhere from D− to C+.
How many people are in Norton by day
On a workday 968 residents head out to work, 432 work right here, and 2,861 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,400 people are in Norton on a workday afternoon, 54% more than live here.
2.4 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.
The trip to work from Norton: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norton workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,077 commuters (the 18% 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.
Where Norton’s workers come from
Where Norton clocks in
13% of workers
5% of workers
2% 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 the 3,293 jobs in Norton are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norton, 2013 → 2023: 3,248 → 3,293. 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 Norton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Norton to work
About 18% 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.
Norton is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norton is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #81 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Norton 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 1,321 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.7% of Norton households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Norton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700, Norton ranks 3,876th of 4,535 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 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | One Loudoun VA | 3,309 | $241K | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 34 | Navy VA | 3,839 | $239K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,874 | Farrell PA | 4,110 | $43K | 23.7% | 7.9% | 9% | C− |
| 3,875 | Olney TX | 3,000 | $36K | 26.4% | 2.4% | 32% | C− |
| 3,876 | Norton VA | 3,477 | $41K | 26.3% | 3.8% | 31% | C− |
| 3,877 | Annsville NY | 2,605 | $67K | 15.0% | 7.0% | 3% | C− |
| 3,878 | Romulus NY | 3,358 | $69K | 18.6% | 2.0% | 6% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Norton, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
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 Norton: questions
What is the median household income in Norton?
$41,495 (±$9,617) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norton?
26.3%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norton?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norton work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wise (13%, 4 mi), Big Stone Gap (5%, 10 mi), Pound (2%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norton walkable?
Norton is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norton without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norton
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.