Lake Anne Village Center Historic District · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Reston have higher incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
5.7% of residents live below the poverty line; Virginia has 9.9%. Jobs and income earn Reston A; getting around on foot earns it A+. 34% of workers have no commute at all; Virginia has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Reston: the figures worth knowing
Reston draws workers from far and wide
The 73,299 jobs in Reston are filled from a wide area. Reston’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 19%; the other 75% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Reston is where the jobs are
Reston has 73,299 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 106,000 people are in town, 64% more than the 64,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Reston
34% of Reston workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Reston’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 85% of the jobs based in Reston. 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.
Inside Reston’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Reston is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #83 of 253 in Virginia. Household income holds Reston’s grade up ($148,710, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Reston could be anywhere from A− to A.
The towns that send workers to Reston
Where Reston clocks in
10% 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.
A workday in Reston: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 27,501 residents head out to work, 4,467 work right here, and 68,832 people come in from elsewhere.
About 106,000 people are in Reston on a workday afternoon, 64% more than live here.
2.3 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.
A commute of about 26 minutes in Reston
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Reston workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24,751 commuters (the 34% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Reston
73,299 jobs are based in Reston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Reston, 2013 → 2023: 66,339 → 73,299. 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 Reston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Reston to work
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.
Reston 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 37,221 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 46% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 33.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 4.6% of Reston households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Reston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Reston places 143rd of 698 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 45,000 to 87,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Ashburn VA | 46,026 | $155K | 4.0% | 3.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Leesburg VA | 49,917 | $145K | 6.6% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 141 | Redmond WA | 82,506 | $163K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 32% | A |
| 142 | Alpharetta GA | 66,921 | $148K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 18% | A |
| 143 | Reston VA | 64,414 | $149K | 5.7% | 5.0% | 14% | A |
| 144 | Plainfield Township IL | 85,115 | $127K | 4.7% | 5.0% | 8% | A |
| 145 | South Brunswick Township NJ | 47,454 | $151K | 4.5% | 5.3% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 698 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | 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 Reston, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
How Reston compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Herndon (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Reston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reston | – | A | A+ | 26 min | $148,710 |
| Difficult Run | under 3% | A+ | B | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Dranesville | under 3% | A+ | A− | 29 min | $214,688 |
| Wolf Trap | under 3% | A+ | A− | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Great Falls Crossing | under 3% | A+ | B− | 34 min | $250,000+ |
| Herndon | 3% | A | A+ | 28 min | $148,000 |
| McNair | 3% | A+ | A+ | 25 min | $122,778 |
| Franklin Farm | under 3% | A+ | A | 27 min | $215,544 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Reston’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 Reston: questions
What is the median household income in Reston?
$148,710 (±$8,441) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Reston?
5.7%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Reston?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Reston work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (10%, 18 mi), Tysons (9%, 7 mi), Arlington (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Reston walkable?
Reston is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Reston without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 46% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Reston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Reston
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.