Photo: James Shelton32 · CC BY-SA 3.0A job hub: St. Paul has 2.1 jobs per working resident, and 508 people come in to work
The average commute takes 22 minutes each way; Virginia averages 27, the U.S. 26. Employers in St. Paul report 521 jobs; 251 of its residents have a job. Only 5% work in St. Paul; the top destination outside it is Wise (12%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in St. Paul: the figures worth knowing
St. Paul is where the jobs are
St. Paul has 521 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
58% of the jobs in St. Paul are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
St. Paul has added jobs fast
Jobs based in St. Paul went from 386 in 2013 to 521 in 2023, +35%. 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 251 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Who leaves St. Paul for work, and who comes in
On a workday 238 residents head out to work and 13 work right here.
About 1,100 people are in St. Paul on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
The kinds of work in St. Paul
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Paul, 2013 → 2023: 386 → 521. 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 St. Paul’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into St. Paul
Where St. Paul clocks in
12% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
About 22 minutes each way for St. Paul’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. Paul workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 240 commuters (the 13% 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.
How many miles St. Paul commutes
About 20% 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.
Next door to St. Paul
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. Paul workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Paul | – | — | — | 22 min | $33,000 |
| Castlewood | under 3% | C− | D | 27 min | $60,592 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. Paul’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 St. Paul: questions
What is the median household income in St. Paul?
$33,000 (±$14,179) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Paul?
30.8%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Paul?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Paul work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wise (12%, 15 mi), Lebanon (5%, 13 mi), Norton (5%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around St. Paul without a car?
0% 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 St. Paul, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Paul
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.