Photo: self · CC BY-SA 4.0Onley has 1.8 jobs for every working resident: 370 people commute in to work
The average commute takes 15 minutes each way, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. Onley has 375 jobs, and 212 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in Onley itself; outside it, Accomac draws the most (10%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Onley at work: what stands out
Commutes from Onley are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Onley
52% of Onley residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 31% of the jobs based in Onley pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. 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; with 212 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
About 15 minutes to work from Onley
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Onley workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 261 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Onley
About 37% 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.
Jobs in Onley: what the 375 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Onley, 2013 → 2023: 390 → 375. 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 Onley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Onley
On a workday 207 residents head out to work and 5 work right here.
About 700 people are in Onley on a workday afternoon, 30% more 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.
Where Onley’s workers come from
Where Onley clocks in
10% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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 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 Onley: questions
What is the median household income in Onley?
$57,837 (±$20,308) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Onley?
8.6%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Onley?
15 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Onley work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Accomac (10%, 3 mi), Onancock (4%, 2 mi), Newport News (4%, 61 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Onley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Onley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Onley
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.