Dutch Hollow Wine Cellars · Photo: ForestWander · CC BY-SA 3.0 usUnemployment in Dunbar (1.8%) is lower than in 87% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 76% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Dunbar is better than 54% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (A−). Only 5% work in Dunbar itself; outside it, Charleston draws the most (36%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Dunbar at work: what stands out
Dunbar trades workers with the towns around it
Dunbar has about as many jobs (3,527) as working residents (3,134), but they are mostly different people: 2,972 residents leave for work each day while 3,365 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Dunbar are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Much of Dunbar works one town over
49% of working residents work in a town that borders Dunbar: Charleston (36%) and South Charleston (13%). Next door ↓
Most Dunbar residents work close to home
70% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Dunbar are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across West Virginia. That’s about 54 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Dunbar
Unemployment holds Dunbar’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($58,379, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dunbar could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
In and out of Dunbar on a workday
On a workday 2,972 residents head out to work, 162 work right here, and 3,365 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 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.
Dunbar’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Getting to work from Dunbar takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dunbar workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,505 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.
Where people from Dunbar work
Where Dunbar clocks in
36% of workers
13% 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.
What the 3,527 jobs in Dunbar are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dunbar, 2013 → 2023: 3,100 → 3,527. 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 Dunbar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Dunbar, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,815 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). 9.6% of Dunbar households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Dunbar’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Dunbar ranks: 1,699th of 3,227 U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 625 | Bridgeport WV | 9,427 | $100K | 3.9% | 2.3% | 28% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,315 | Ranson corporation WV | 6,853 | $90K | 12.0% | 2.5% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,578 | Charles Town WV | 9,329 | $89K | 6.5% | 5.9% | 8% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,697 | Austell GA | 8,339 | $73K | 10.8% | 5.5% | 1% | B− |
| 1,698 | Quakertown PA | 9,235 | $86K | 10.2% | 7.2% | 7% | B− |
| 1,699 | Dunbar WV | 7,050 | $58K | 14.9% | 1.8% | 5% | B− |
| 1,700 | Wayne Township OH | 4,958 | $79K | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5% | B− |
| 1,701 | Lake Mathews CA | 6,527 | $94K | 8.1% | 12.7% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,227 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Dunbar, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
49% of Dunbar works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dunbar workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunbar | – | B− | A− | 20 min | $58,379 |
| South Charleston | 13% | C | A− | 19 min | $63,884 |
| West Dunbar | under 1% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Charleston | 36% | C | A− | 17 min | $65,812 |
Same-state neighbors only. West Dunbar: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Charleston. Darker towns draw more of Dunbar’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 Dunbar: questions
What is the median household income in Dunbar?
$58,379 (±$7,118) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dunbar?
14.9%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dunbar?
20 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 Dunbar work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charleston (36%, 6 mi), South Charleston (13%, 2 mi), Huntington (3%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dunbar walkable?
Dunbar is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dunbar without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dunbar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dunbar
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.