Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainHouseholds in Follansbee earn less than those in 76% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 8.1% of residents, next to 16.7% for West Virginia as a whole. Jobs and income earn Follansbee C; getting around on foot earns it B. Only 6% work in Follansbee itself; outside it, Weirton draws the most (17%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Follansbee and work: the main findings
Follansbee and Weirton trade workers both ways
Weirton is the top workplace for Follansbee residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Follansbee come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Follansbee 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.
The four measures behind Follansbee’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Follansbee is better than 31% of U.S. towns, #29 of 61 in West Virginia. The poverty rate holds Follansbee’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($58,371, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Follansbee could be anywhere from D to A−.
Where the trip to work from Follansbee ends
Where Follansbee clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
How long Follansbee spends getting to work: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Follansbee workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,501 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.
Who commutes out of Follansbee, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,092 residents head out to work, 67 work right here, and 617 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Follansbee on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.59 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 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Follansbee: 684 jobs
684 jobs are based in Follansbee.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Follansbee, 2013 → 2023: 902 → 684. 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 Follansbee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Follansbee
About 17% 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.
In Follansbee, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Follansbee is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #39 of 61 in West Virginia. Both inputs place Follansbee 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 1,617 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). 9.5% of Follansbee households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Follansbee’s commuters take a bus or train.
Follansbee next to U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600: 3,182nd of 4,797 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 976 | Williamstown WV | 2,922 | $89K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,379 | Bethlehem WV | 2,520 | $83K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,388 | Culloden WV | 3,040 | $73K | 11.8% | 0.0% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,180 | Perry MI | 2,134 | $75K | 19.1% | 7.1% | 7% | C |
| 3,181 | Pinehurst TX | 2,206 | $50K | 12.1% | 2.9% | 2% | C |
| 3,182 | Follansbee WV | 2,668 | $58K | 8.1% | 5.9% | 6% | C |
| 3,183 | Cedar Township IL | 2,942 | $67K | 5.6% | 9.2% | 7% | C |
| 3,184 | Polo IL | 2,235 | $63K | 20.5% | 3.0% | 10% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Follansbee, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Around Follansbee: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Hooverson Heights (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Follansbee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Follansbee | – | C | B | 20 min | $58,371 |
| Hooverson Heights | 3% | C− | D | 27 min | $60,781 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Follansbee’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 Follansbee: questions
What is the median household income in Follansbee?
$58,371 (±$13,797) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Follansbee?
8.1%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Follansbee?
20 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 Follansbee work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Weirton (17%, 6 mi), Wellsburg (6%, 4 mi), Wheeling (5%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Follansbee walkable?
Follansbee is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Follansbee without a car?
0% 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 Follansbee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Follansbee
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.