McMechen Lockmaster Houses on the Ohio River · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in McMechen earn less than those in 96% of U.S. towns
Only 2% stay in McMechen for work; outside it, Wheeling is the main destination (23%, 6 miles). The poverty rate is 27.5%, where West Virginia as a whole has 16.7%. McMechen grades D for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in McMechen: the gist
McMechen is a place people come home to
There are 137 jobs based in McMechen, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday McMechen has about 980 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
McMechen and Wheeling trade workers both ways
Wheeling is the top workplace for McMechen residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in McMechen come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 758 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in McMechen
On income, poverty and job access, McMechen is better than 11% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds McMechen’s grade up (ahead of 53% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($40,446, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (7.5%) is left out: McMechen’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, McMechen could be anywhere from D to C−.
How many people are in McMechen by day
On a workday 746 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 125 people come in from elsewhere.
About 980 people are in McMechen on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.18 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 McMechen ends
Where McMechen clocks in
23% of workers
11% 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.
Most jobs in McMechen are in services
137 jobs are based in McMechen.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McMechen, 2013 → 2023: 142 → 137. 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 McMechen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way for McMechen’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McMechen workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 707 commuters (the 5% 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 McMechen goes to work
About 20% 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.
McMechen is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, McMechen is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place McMechen near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 747 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.3% of McMechen households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of McMechen’s commuters take a bus or train.
McMechen is 5,032nd of 6,161 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,153 | Barrackville WV | 1,196 | $79K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,343 | Coal Fork WV | 1,423 | $70K | 2.3% | 29.5% | <1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,457 | Eleanor WV | 1,497 | $79K | 5.9% | 0.6% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,030 | Pleasanton KS | 1,186 | $50K | 11.0% | 6.9% | 7% | D |
| 5,031 | La Grulla TX | 1,234 | $37K | 19.2% | 9.0% | 0% | D |
| 5,032 | McMechen WV | 1,605 | $40K | 27.5% | 7.5% | 2% | D |
| 5,033 | Washburn ME | 1,499 | $56K | 12.7% | 7.4% | 9% | D |
| 5,034 | Branch Township MI | 1,413 | $62K | 14.4% | 7.1% | 2% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of McMechen, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Next door to McMechen
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Benwood. Darker towns draw more of McMechen’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 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 McMechen: questions
What is the median household income in McMechen?
$40,446 (±$9,458) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McMechen?
27.5%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McMechen?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McMechen work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wheeling (23%, 6 mi), Moundsville (11%, 4 mi), Glen Dale (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is McMechen walkable?
McMechen is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McMechen without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McMechen, from the people who make the trip.
More of McMechen
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.