Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Most of Charleston commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Only 4% work in Charleston; the top destination outside it is Newport (22%, 10 miles). Charleston has 60 jobs; 389 of its residents have a job. Working residents average 26 minutes each way; Vermont averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Charleston: the figures worth knowing
Who leaves Charleston for work, and who comes in
On a workday 375 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 46 people come in from elsewhere.
About 650 people are in Charleston on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer 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.
The towns that employ Charleston’s residents
Where Charleston clocks in
20% of workers
5% 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.
What Charleston’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Charleston, 2013 → 2023: 90 → 60. 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 Charleston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Charleston’s commute takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Charleston workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 378 commuters (the 19% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% drive alone, 1% 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 Charleston
About 23% 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.
Next door is work for 23% of Charleston
The biggest share goes to Derby (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Charleston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | – | — | — | 26 min | $49,286 |
| Brighton | under 2% | D− | A | 33 min | $47,375 |
| Morgan | 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Derby | 20% | C | B+ | 32 min | $80,250 |
| Westmore | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Morgan and Westmore: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Charleston’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 Charleston: questions
What is the median household income in Charleston?
$49,286 (±$16,836) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Charleston?
12.3%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Charleston?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Charleston work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Newport (22%, 10 mi), Derby (20%, 8 mi), St. Johnsbury (5%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Charleston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Charleston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Charleston
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.