Photo: User: Kubigula · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Suffolk have higher incomes than those in 71% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 9.4% of residents; Virginia has 9.9%. Suffolk grades B+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. 11% of workers work from home (Virginia 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Suffolk
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Suffolk
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Suffolk is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #149 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car holds Suffolk’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Suffolk could be anywhere from B to B+.
How many people are in Suffolk by day
On a workday 31,202 residents head out to work, 8,764 work right here, and 21,671 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 (0.76 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.
14% of working residents work in Chesapeake
Where Suffolk clocks in
14% of workers
13% of workers
10% 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.
Jobs in Suffolk: what the 30,435 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Suffolk, 2013 → 2023: 23,898 → 30,435. 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 Suffolk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 30 minutes in Suffolk
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Suffolk workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42,611 commuters (the 11% 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 far it is to work from Suffolk
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.
Driving is how Suffolk gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Suffolk is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #218 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Suffolk near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 47,710 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 7% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 5.0% of Suffolk households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Suffolk’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Suffolk places 192nd of 409 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 73,000 to 141,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Jurupa Valley CA | 107,311 | $98K | 11.0% | 5.7% | 9% | B+ |
| 191 | Fullerton CA | 138,675 | $104K | 12.3% | 6.3% | 10% | B+ |
| 192 | Suffolk VA | 104,699 | $93K | 9.4% | 5.0% | 22% | B+ |
| 193 | Davie FL | 110,851 | $87K | 11.2% | 5.2% | 10% | B |
| 194 | Elgin IL | 115,476 | $90K | 9.8% | 6.1% | 20% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 309 | Hampton VA | 137,315 | $70K | 12.7% | 6.3% | 25% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 345 | Portsmouth VA | 96,777 | $60K | 17.3% | 6.6% | 17% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 359 | Roanoke VA | 99,111 | $55K | 18.3% | 5.6% | 43% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 409 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Suffolk, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Bordering towns draw 29% of Suffolk’s workers
The biggest share goes to Chesapeake (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Suffolk workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk | – | B+ | C+ | 30 min | $92,666 |
| Portsmouth | 6% | C | A | 24 min | $60,491 |
| Chesapeake | 14% | B+ | B+ | 26 min | $95,373 |
| Newport News | 9% | C+ | A | 23 min | $69,634 |
| Carrsville | under 1% | — | — | 38 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Carrsville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Suffolk’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 Suffolk: questions
What is the median household income in Suffolk?
$92,666 (±$3,881) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Suffolk?
9.4%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Suffolk?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Suffolk work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chesapeake (14%, 18 mi), Norfolk (13%, 27 mi), Virginia Beach (10%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Suffolk walkable?
Suffolk is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Suffolk without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Suffolk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Suffolk
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.