Sussex County Courthouse Historic District · Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domainThere are 5.9 jobs in Sussex for every working resident, and 442 people commute in
Only 1% work in Sussex; the top destination outside it is Petersburg (5%, 21 miles). 443 jobs are based in Sussex, and 75 of its residents work somewhere. 0% of workers have no commute at all, next to 18% for Virginia as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Sussex
On a workday 74 residents head out to work and 1 work right here.
About 430 people are in Sussex on a workday afternoon, 558% more than live here.
5.9 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 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip into Sussex
Where Sussex clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Most jobs in Sussex are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sussex, 2014 → 2024: 245 → 443. 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 Sussex’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Sussex
of Sussex workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12 commuters (the 0% 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.
The commute from Sussex, by distance
About 39% 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.
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 Sussex: questions
What is the poverty rate in Sussex?
0.0%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Sussex work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Petersburg (5%, 21 mi), Richmond (4%, 44 mi), Waverly (3%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Sussex without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sussex, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sussex
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.