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Jobs & commute in Bolt

Most of Bolt commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident

Hardly any work in Bolt; the top destination outside it is Beckley (18%, 14 miles). Bolt has 32 jobs; 119 of its residents have a job.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Bolt by day and by night

On a workday 119 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 32 people come in from elsewhere.

119live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
32work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night200
Workday110
200live here− 120head out to work+ 32come in to work= 110on a workday

About 110 people are in Bolt on a workday afternoon, 45% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.27jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Where Bolt’s working residents head each day

Sophia: 5 residents work here (4%)Pineville: 3 residents work here (3%)OceanaElkinsWelch: 2 residents work here (2%)Morgantown: 3 residents work here (3%)South Charleston: 2 residents work here (2%)Beckley: 21 residents work here (18%)Bridgeport: 2 residents work here (2%)Huntington: 3 residents work here (3%)Charleston: 6 residents work here (5%)Glen White: 2 residents work here (2%)SpraguePiney ViewDanielsBoltCross LanesTeays ValleyBeckleyCharlestonSophiaPinevilleMorgantownHuntingtonBolt
1
Beckley14.1 mi away
18%21
2
Charleston42.4 mi away
5%6
3
Sophia9.7 mi away
4%5
4
Pineville13.3 mi away
3%3
5
Morgantown152.2 mi away
3%3
6
Huntington71.2 mi away
3%3
7
Welch24.7 mi away
2%2
8
South Charleston43.2 mi away
2%2
9
Bridgeport124.2 mi away
2%2
10
Glen White7.9 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
59%70
The top trips

Where Bolt clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

What Bolt’s employers do

Jobs based in BoltJobs Bolt residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%24%
Trade, transport & utilities91%18%
Services: health, schools, offices9%58%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less9%17%
$1,251–$3,333 a month28%33%
Over $3,333 a month63%50%

Who does it

29 or younger28%23%
30 to 5450%56%
55 and older22%21%
−64%

Jobs based in Bolt, 2013 → 2023: 90 → 32. 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 Bolt’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How far

Bolt’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miBeckley: 18% · 14.1 miCharleston: 5% · 42.4 miSophia: 4% · 9.7 miPineville: 3% · 13.3 miMorgantown: 3% · 152.2 miHuntington: 3% · 71.2 miWelch: 2% · 24.7 miSouth Charleston: 2% · 43.2 miBridgeport: 2% · 124.2 miGlen White: 2% · 7.9 miBeckley 18%Charleston 5%Sophia 4%Pineville 3%Morgantown 3%Bolt
BoltTop destinations (size = commuters)
16%Under 10 mi19 residents
54%10–24 mi64 residents
13%25–50 mi15 residents
18%Over 50 mi21 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Bolt: questions

What is the poverty rate in Bolt?

0.0%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

Where do people who live in Bolt work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beckley (18%, 14 mi), Charleston (5%, 42 mi), Sophia (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Bolt, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Bolt

Bolt home →

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.