Harpers Ferry National Historical Park · Photo: Mark Fickett · CC BY 3.0How Harpers Ferry works: jobs, income and commuting
A typical one-way commute lasts 41 minutes, where West Virginia has 27 and the U.S. 26. 33% of workers have no commute at all, where West Virginia as a whole has 9%. Only 2% work in Harpers Ferry; the top destination outside it is Ranson corporation (5%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 126 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 144 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 (1.14 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 Harpers Ferry commutes to
Where Harpers Ferry clocks in
4% 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.
Harpers Ferry is a services town
147 jobs are based in Harpers Ferry.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harpers Ferry, 2014 → 2024: 155 → 147. 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 Harpers Ferry’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 41 minutes each way, longer than most of West Virginia
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harpers Ferry workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 131 commuters (the 33% 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.
Miles to work from Harpers Ferry
About 15% 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.
Harpers Ferry and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Harpers Ferry workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harpers Ferry | – | — | — | 41 min | $116,587 |
| Bolivar | 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bolivar: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bolivar. Darker towns draw more of Harpers Ferry’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 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 Harpers Ferry: questions
What is the median household income in Harpers Ferry?
$116,587 (±$24,402) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harpers Ferry?
2.3%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harpers Ferry?
41 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 33% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harpers Ferry work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ranson corporation (5%, 8 mi), Charles Town (4%, 9 mi), Vienna (3%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Harpers Ferry without a car?
1% 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 Harpers Ferry, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harpers Ferry
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.