Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Craigsville have lower incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 6.1% of residents, where West Virginia as a whole has 16.7%. For jobs and income Craigsville is better than 18% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (D). Only 5% work in Craigsville itself; outside it, Summersville draws the most (18%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Craigsville in brief
The better-paid jobs are outside Craigsville
53% of Craigsville residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 30% of the jobs based in Craigsville pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Craigsville are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 27 across West Virginia. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical West Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 692 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Craigsville’s grade
The poverty rate holds Craigsville’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($39,943, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (2.3%) is left out: Craigsville’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Craigsville could be anywhere from D to B−.
Jobs in Craigsville: what the 322 are
322 jobs are based in Craigsville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Craigsville, 2014 → 2024: 415 → 322. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Craigsville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Craigsville, about 18 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Craigsville workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 547 commuters (the 7% 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.
Craigsville’s commute, mile by mile
About 32% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who leaves Craigsville for work, and who comes in
On a workday 656 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 286 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Craigsville on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.47 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The places Craigsville commutes to
Where Craigsville clocks in
18% of workers
4% 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.
Craigsville is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.5% across West Virginia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 588 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). 5.1% of Craigsville households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Craigsville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Craigsville next to U.S. towns of 1,500 to 3,000: 4,300th of 5,641 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,009 | Williamstown WV | 2,922 | $89K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,456 | Bethlehem WV | 2,520 | $83K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,727 | Kenova WV | 2,841 | $54K | 9.0% | 0.0% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,298 | Zerbe Township PA | 1,769 | $58K | 17.4% | 5.3% | 3% | C− |
| 4,299 | Belcourt ND | 1,547 | $91K | 27.7% | 0.0% | 47% | C− |
| 4,300 | Craigsville WV | 2,190 | $40K | 6.1% | 2.3% | 5% | C− |
| 4,301 | Williamsport MD | 2,112 | $62K | 23.3% | 11.9% | 2% | C− |
| 4,302 | Gregory TX | 1,708 | $47K | 39.2% | 5.2% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,641 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Craigsville, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Craigsville: questions
What is the median household income in Craigsville?
$39,943 (±$37,557) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Craigsville?
6.1%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Craigsville?
18 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Craigsville work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Summersville (18%, 11 mi), Beckley (4%, 47 mi), Charleston (4%, 53 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Craigsville walkable?
Craigsville is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Craigsville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Craigsville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Craigsville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.