Photo: self · CC BY 3.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Wakefield’s
The two grades for Wakefield are A+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. Below the poverty line: 1.8% of residents, next to 9.9% across Virginia.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Wakefield in brief
Nearly all the work in Wakefield is services
97% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
A lot of Wakefield works from home
30% of Wakefield workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Wakefield than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Wakefield fell from 2,445 in 2013 to 1,574 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Jobs & income in Wakefield: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wakefield is among the top U.S. towns, #13 of 253 in Virginia. Household income is its strongest input ($237,975, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wakefield could be anywhere from A to A+.
Most jobs in Wakefield are in services
1,574 jobs are based in Wakefield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wakefield, 2013 → 2023: 2,445 → 1,574. 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 Wakefield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Wakefield, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wakefield workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,137 commuters (the 30% 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 people are in Wakefield by day
On a workday 4,614 residents head out to work, 100 work right here, and 1,474 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,800 people are in Wakefield on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
14% of working residents work in Washington
Where Wakefield clocks in
14% of workers
8% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Wakefield
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.
Wakefield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.6% 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 5,876 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 15.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% 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). 0.5% of Wakefield households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Wakefield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Wakefield is 37th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Belmont VA | 9,729 | $243K | 2.1% | 1.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 17 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Francisville KY | 10,565 | $159K | 1.7% | 1.3% | 5% | A+ |
| 36 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| 37 | Wakefield VA | 11,930 | $238K | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 38 | Tyrone GA | 8,091 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 39 | Dayton MN | 11,402 | $149K | 3.0% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Wakefield, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
Wakefield and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wakefield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | – | A+ | A− | 28 min | $237,975 |
| Long Branch | under 3% | A+ | B+ | 27 min | $185,208 |
| Annandale | under 3% | B+ | A+ | 27 min | $116,263 |
| Woodburn | under 3% | A− | A+ | 29 min | $134,013 |
| Ravensworth | under 3% | A | A | 23 min | $166,094 |
| Kings Park | under 3% | A+ | A | 32 min | $166,150 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wakefield’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 Wakefield: questions
What is the median household income in Wakefield?
$237,975 (±$15,354) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wakefield?
1.8%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wakefield?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wakefield work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (14%, 13 mi), Arlington (9%, 8 mi), Springfield (8%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wakefield walkable?
Wakefield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wakefield without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wakefield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wakefield
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.