Photo: RebelAt at English Wikipedia · Public domainHouseholds in Saltville earn less than those in 89% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 3% of workers, against 18% across Virginia. 25.2% of residents are in poverty, against 9.9% across Virginia. For jobs and income Saltville is better than 4% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (D).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Saltville apart on work
Few Saltville workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Saltville are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 38 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; with 683 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Saltville’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Saltville’s grade.
Unemployment (5.9%) is left out: Saltville’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Saltville could be anywhere from D− to D.
A commute of about 22 minutes in Saltville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saltville workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 852 commuters (the 3% 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 Saltville on a workday
On a workday 611 residents head out to work, 72 work right here, and 522 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
15% of working residents work in Marion
Where Saltville clocks in
15% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
The 594 jobs based in Saltville
594 jobs are based in Saltville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saltville, 2013 → 2023: 497 → 594. 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 Saltville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Saltville
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.
Getting around Saltville: mostly by car
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 879 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). 6.4% of Saltville households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Saltville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Saltville sits among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Great Falls Crossing VA | 1,414 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 14 | Sully Square VA | 2,394 | $176K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Mason Neck VA | 2,039 | $168K | 1.1% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,604 | St. George SC | 1,868 | $33K | 28.4% | 0.6% | 15% | D− |
| 5,605 | Gate City VA | 2,000 | $43K | 16.7% | 1.3% | 16% | D− |
| 5,606 | Saltville VA | 1,760 | $49K | 25.2% | 5.9% | 11% | D− |
| 5,607 | Swanville ME | 1,435 | $52K | 23.0% | 1.4% | 2% | D− |
| 5,608 | Greenwood Township MI | 1,244 | $45K | 14.3% | 8.6% | 11% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Saltville, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Saltville and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saltville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saltville | – | D− | D | 22 min | $48,658 |
| Allison Gap | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Allison Gap: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Saltville’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 Saltville: questions
What is the median household income in Saltville?
$48,658 (±$6,998) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saltville?
25.2%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saltville?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saltville work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marion (15%, 14 mi), Abingdon (7%, 16 mi), Chilhowie (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Saltville walkable?
Saltville is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saltville 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 Saltville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saltville
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.