Kanawha has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 14 jobs in Kanawha, against 181 working residents. Hardly any work in Kanawha; the top destination outside it is Parkersburg (31%, 6 miles). For 0% of workers, the job is at home; West Virginia has 9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Kanawha, and who commutes in
On a workday 180 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 13 people come in from elsewhere.
About 25 people are in Kanawha on a workday afternoon, 87% 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 the trip to work from Kanawha ends
Where Kanawha clocks in
31% of workers
5% 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.
Kanawha makes things: 36% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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 Kanawha’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Kanawha
of Kanawha workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 85 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Kanawha
About 22% 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 Kanawha: questions
What is the median household income in Kanawha?
$60,547 (±$22,589) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kanawha?
12.0%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Kanawha work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parkersburg (31%, 6 mi), Vienna (5%, 9 mi), Marietta (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Kanawha without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kanawha, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kanawha
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.