Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBolivar has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
18% of workers have no commute at all, next to 9% for West Virginia as a whole. Bolivar has 200 jobs; 453 of its residents have a job. Only 2% stay in Bolivar for work; outside it, Charles Town is the main destination (6%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Bolivar and work: the main findings
Bolivar workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 27 across West Virginia. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Bolivar
18% of Bolivar workers work from home, against 9% across West Virginia. Time on the road ↓
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; with 453 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How long Bolivar spends getting to work: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bolivar workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 552 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across West Virginia: 86% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Bolivar
On a workday 444 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 191 people come in from elsewhere.
About 730 people are in Bolivar on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
Where Bolivar goes to work
Where Bolivar clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Most jobs in Bolivar are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bolivar, 2013 → 2023: 146 → 200. 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 Bolivar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bolivar’s commute, mile by mile
About 18% 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.
Bolivar and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bolivar workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivar | – | — | — | 37 min | $83,068 |
| Harpers Ferry | under 2% | — | — | 41 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Harpers Ferry: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bolivar’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 Bolivar: questions
What is the median household income in Bolivar?
$83,068 (±$19,876) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bolivar?
10.5%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bolivar?
37 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bolivar work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charles Town (6%, 8 mi), Leesburg (5%, 18 mi), Martinsburg (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Bolivar without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bolivar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bolivar
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.