Photo: Magnolia677 · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Handley commutes out: there are 0.6 jobs for every working resident
Only 2% stay in Handley for work; outside it, Charleston is the main destination (26%, 18 miles). 34 jobs are based in Handley, against 61 working residents. Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average, next to 27 for West Virginia and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Handley, and who commutes in
On a workday 60 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 33 people come in from elsewhere.
About 180 people are in Handley on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Handley’s working residents head each day
Where Handley clocks in
26% of workers
11% 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.
Jobs in Handley: what the 34 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Handley, 2013 → 2023: 21 → 34. 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 Handley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Handley, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Handley workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 183 commuters (the 4% 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.
Half of Handley commutes less than 19 miles
About 23% 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.
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 Handley: questions
What is the median household income in Handley?
$105,150 (±$75,023) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Handley?
3.8%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Handley?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Handley work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charleston (26%, 18 mi), South Charleston (11%, 21 mi), Montgomery (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Handley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Handley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Handley
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.