Triangle has higher unemployment (9.0%) than 92% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Triangle B; getting around on foot earns it B. Hardly any work in Triangle; the top destination outside it is Washington (9%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Triangle apart on work
Triangle workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 27 across Virginia. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Triangle is a place people come home to
There are 525 jobs based in Triangle, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Triangle has about 7,100 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Triangle’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Triangle is Washington, DC, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (347) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Triangle has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Triangle went from 350 in 2013 to 525 in 2023, +50%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Triangle’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Triangle is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #155 of 253 in Virginia. Household income holds Triangle’s grade up ($109,693, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Triangle could be anywhere from B− to A.
How long Triangle spends getting to work: about 39 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Triangle workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,200 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 a workday changes Triangle
On a workday 3,863 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 492 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,100 people are in Triangle on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.13 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Half of Triangle commutes less than 22 miles
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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Triangle
525 jobs are based in Triangle.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Triangle, 2013 → 2023: 350 → 525. 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 Triangle’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Triangle to work: where people go
Where Triangle clocks in
9% of workers
4% 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.
Getting around Triangle: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Triangle is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #163 of 253 in Virginia. Both inputs place Triangle 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 4,834 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 22% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 2.0% of Triangle households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Triangle’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,338th of 2,878: where Triangle ranks among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Difficult Run VA | 9,938 | $250K | 1.4% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Belmont VA | 9,729 | $243K | 2.1% | 1.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Long Branch VA | 7,034 | $185K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,336 | Boyes Hot Springs CA | 7,247 | $101K | 11.6% | 3.4% | 3% | B |
| 1,337 | Incline Village NV | 9,272 | $167K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 41% | B |
| 1,338 | Triangle VA | 10,450 | $110K | 7.6% | 9.0% | 1% | B |
| 1,339 | Grand Terrace CA | 12,936 | $84K | 7.5% | 6.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,340 | Walled Lake MI | 7,320 | $72K | 10.5% | 4.0% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Triangle, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Triangle and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Dumfries (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Triangle workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triangle | – | B | B | 39 min | $109,693 |
| Dumfries | 2% | A− | A | 36 min | $82,355 |
| Quantico Base | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 12 min | $72,821 |
| Cherry Hill | under 2% | B+ | A | 41 min | $122,447 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Triangle’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 Triangle: questions
What is the median household income in Triangle?
$109,693 (±$15,421) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Triangle?
7.6%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Triangle?
39 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Triangle work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (9%, 30 mi), Arlington (5%, 26 mi), Alexandria (4%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Triangle walkable?
Triangle is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Triangle without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Triangle, from the people who make the trip.
More of Triangle
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.