Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Ghent at work: jobs, income and the commute
There are 133 jobs in Ghent, and 168 of its residents work somewhere. For 0% of workers, the job is at home; West Virginia has 9%. Hardly any work in Ghent; the top destination outside it is Beckley (23%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Ghent: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 167 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 132 people come in from elsewhere.
About 260 people are in Ghent on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).
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 Ghent commutes to
Where Ghent clocks in
23% of workers
10% 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.
What Ghent’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ghent, 2014 → 2024: 74 → 133. 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 Ghent’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Ghent
of Ghent workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 186 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.
How far it is to work from Ghent
About 33% 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.
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 Ghent: questions
What is the median household income in Ghent?
$109,692 (±$108,627) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ghent?
0.0%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Ghent work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beckley (23%, 11 mi), Charleston (10%, 58 mi), Sophia (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Ghent without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ghent, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ghent
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.