Laurel Mills Historic District · Photo: self · CC BY 3.0Washington has 15.4 jobs for every working resident: 383 people commute in to work
Home is the office for 25% of workers (Virginia 18%). Washington has 385 jobs; 25 of its residents have a job. About one in ten work in Washington; the top destination outside it is Warrenton (8%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How many people are in Washington by day
On a workday 23 residents head out to work and 2 work right here.
About 440 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 429% 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.
Who travels to work in Washington, and from where
Where Washington clocks in
8% of workers
4% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Washington
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 318 → 385. 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 Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Virginia
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18 commuters (the 25% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Washington
About 32% 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.
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 Washington: questions
What is the median household income in Washington?
$75,500 (±$46,003) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
6.7%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Warrenton (8%, 20 mi), Madison (4%, 24 mi), Farmville (4%, 99 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Washington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Washington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washington
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.