Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Most of Lester commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
7 jobs are based in Lester, and 94 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Lester; the top destination outside it is Beckley (17%, 8 miles). Commuters spend 54 minutes getting to work on average, where West Virginia has 27 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Lester
On a workday 94 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 7 people come in from elsewhere.
About 240 people are in Lester on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
The towns that employ Lester’s residents
Where Lester clocks in
17% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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 Lester’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lester, 2013 → 2023: 118 → 7. 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 Lester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Lester: about 54 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 17.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lester workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 78 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.
Lester’s commute, mile by mile
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 Lester: questions
What is the poverty rate in Lester?
41.4%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lester?
54 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 Lester work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beckley (17%, 8 mi), South Charleston (4%, 48 mi), Charleston (4%, 46 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lester without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lester
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.