Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Clarksburg’s household incomes are lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
23.5% of residents are in poverty, next to 16.7% for West Virginia as a whole. Jobs and income earn Clarksburg C−; getting around on foot earns it A. About one in five work in Clarksburg; the top destination outside it is Bridgeport (18%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Clarksburg
Fewer jobs are based in Clarksburg than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Clarksburg fell from 18,069 in 2013 to 8,753 in 2023, −52%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Clarksburg draws workers from far and wide
The 8,753 jobs in Clarksburg are filled from a wide area. Clarksburg’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 17%; the other 67% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Clarksburg are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across West Virginia. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical West Virginia worker. 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.
Why Clarksburg gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clarksburg is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #44 of 61 in West Virginia. Job access by car holds Clarksburg’s grade up (ahead of 51% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clarksburg could be anywhere from D to C+.
What the 8,753 jobs in Clarksburg are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clarksburg, 2013 → 2023: 18,069 → 8,753. 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 Clarksburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Clarksburg work
Where Clarksburg clocks in
18% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
The daily trip from Clarksburg: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clarksburg workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,888 commuters (the 8% 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.
Clarksburg on a workday afternoon
On a workday 4,893 residents head out to work, 1,361 work right here, and 7,392 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Clarksburg on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.40 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Clarksburg
About 16% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Clarksburg
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clarksburg is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #4 of 61 in West Virginia. Both inputs place Clarksburg near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,417 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.3% of Clarksburg households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Clarksburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000, Clarksburg ranks 1,841st of 2,109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 442 | Teays Valley WV | 14,151 | $109K | 5.1% | 2.0% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,688 | South Charleston WV | 13,072 | $64K | 16.9% | 7.0% | 16% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,698 | Martinsburg WV | 19,211 | $60K | 19.8% | 5.2% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,839 | Newman CA | 12,453 | $79K | 12.2% | 11.0% | 13% | C− |
| 1,840 | Holly Hill FL | 13,268 | $55K | 21.5% | 7.5% | 6% | C− |
| 1,841 | Clarksburg WV | 15,562 | $47K | 23.5% | 4.4% | 22% | C− |
| 1,842 | Weirton WV | 18,133 | $60K | 12.6% | 7.1% | 29% | C− |
| 1,843 | Bayou Blue LA | 12,218 | $64K | 23.9% | 5.3% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Clarksburg, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Clarksburg and its neighbors: 22% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clarksburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarksburg | – | C− | A | 21 min | $47,386 |
| Bridgeport | 18% | A | B+ | 19 min | $100,022 |
| Nutter Fort | 2% | B− | A | 17 min | $68,068 |
| Despard | 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Anmoore | under 1% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| East View | under 1% | — | — | 15 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Despard, Anmoore and East View: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bridgeport. Darker towns draw more of Clarksburg’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 Clarksburg: questions
What is the median household income in Clarksburg?
$47,386 (±$4,848) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clarksburg?
23.5%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clarksburg?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clarksburg work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bridgeport (18%, 7 mi), Fairmont (4%, 18 mi), Morgantown (3%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clarksburg walkable?
Clarksburg is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clarksburg without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clarksburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clarksburg
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.