Photo: Schaefer, Harry, Photographer (NARA record: 8464469) · Public domainWith 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Boomer works elsewhere
Home is the office for 0% of workers, next to 9% for West Virginia as a whole. Boomer has 5 jobs, against 99 working residents. Hardly any work in Boomer itself; outside it, Charleston draws the most (12%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Boomer, and who commutes in
On a workday 99 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 5 people come in from elsewhere.
About 160 people are in Boomer on a workday afternoon, 38% 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 places Boomer commutes to
Where Boomer clocks in
12% of workers
6% 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 Boomer are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boomer, 2013 → 2023: 36 → 5. 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 Boomer’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Boomer
of Boomer workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 112 commuters (the 0% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Boomer
About 38% 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.
Boomer and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boomer workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boomer | – | — | — | — | $38,209 |
| Mount Carbon | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Smithers | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Mount Carbon and Smithers: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Boomer’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 Boomer: questions
What is the median household income in Boomer?
$38,209 (±$22,986) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boomer?
28.0%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Boomer work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charleston (12%, 24 mi), Montgomery (6%, 3 mi), Falls View (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Boomer without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boomer, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boomer
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.