Photo: User:Corvokarasu · Public domainSouth Hill has 1.9 jobs for every working resident: 3,611 people commute in to work
There are 4,117 jobs in South Hill, and 2,200 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn South Hill C+; getting around on foot earns it C+. 6% of workers work from home, where Virginia as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in South Hill
South Hill is where the jobs are
South Hill has 4,117 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
44% 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 ↓
No single place dominates South Hill’s commute
The biggest draw, Richmond, gets only 7% of working residents, and 53% work outside the top ten towns entirely. South Hill residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from South Hill are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 61 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside South Hill’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, South Hill is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #198 of 253 in Virginia. Unemployment holds South Hill’s grade up (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 24% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, South Hill could be anywhere from D to B.
Who commutes out of South Hill, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,694 residents head out to work and 506 work right here.
About 6,800 people are in South Hill on a workday afternoon, 39% 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 2024, primary jobs.
South Hill’s commute, mile by mile
About 44% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Commuting in to South Hill: where workers come from
Where South Hill clocks in
7% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
Each way, about 19 minutes from South Hill
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Hill workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,220 commuters (the 7% 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.
What South Hill’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Hill, 2014 → 2024: 5,107 → 4,117. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Hill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around South Hill: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Hill is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #201 of 253 in Virginia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of 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 2,375 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). 7.9% of South Hill households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of South Hill’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,840 U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,600, South Hill comes 2,572nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 10 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | South Run VA | 6,600 | $250K | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,570 | Jerusalem NY | 4,363 | $87K | 9.0% | 5.8% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,571 | Decatur Township PA | 4,161 | $56K | 20.0% | 0.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,572 | South Hill VA | 4,889 | $66K | 15.3% | 2.6% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,573 | Constantine Township MI | 4,043 | $74K | 11.8% | 7.2% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,574 | Elgin OK | 3,653 | $96K | 11.1% | 7.2% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,840 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 South Hill, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
How South Hill compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Hill workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hill | – | C+ | C+ | 19 min | $66,023 |
| La Crosse | under 2% | — | — | 15 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. La Crosse: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of South Hill’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 2024, 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 South Hill: questions
What is the median household income in South Hill?
$66,023 (±$14,591) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Hill?
15.3%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Hill?
19 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Hill work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richmond (7%, 66 mi), Boydton (5%, 15 mi), Clarksville (3%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is South Hill walkable?
South Hill is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Hill without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Hill, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Hill
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.