Photo: Tim Kiser (Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Households in Moundsville earn less than those in 89% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 22.5% of residents; West Virginia has 16.7%. The two grades for Moundsville are C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in five stay in Moundsville for work; outside it, Wheeling is the main destination (19%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Moundsville apart
Moundsville trades workers with the towns around it
Moundsville has about as many jobs (3,692) as working residents (3,179), but they are mostly different people: 2,619 residents leave for work each day while 3,132 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Moundsville are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Moundsville are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across West Virginia. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical West Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Moundsville workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 9% across West Virginia. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Moundsville earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Moundsville is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #36 of 61 in West Virginia. Unemployment holds Moundsville’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Moundsville could be anywhere from D to C+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,619 residents head out to work, 560 work right here, and 3,132 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 (1.16 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 daily trip from Moundsville: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Moundsville workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,094 commuters (the 2% 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.
Where the trip to work from Moundsville ends
Where Moundsville clocks in
19% of workers
2% 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.
The 3,692 jobs based in Moundsville
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Moundsville, 2014 → 2024: 3,107 → 3,692. 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 Moundsville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Moundsville 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Moundsville
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Moundsville is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #23 of 61 in West Virginia. Both inputs place Moundsville 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 3,169 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). 10.4% of Moundsville households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Moundsville’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Moundsville ranks: 2,422nd of 3,018 U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 605 | Bridgeport WV | 9,427 | $100K | 3.9% | 2.3% | 27% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,250 | Ranson corporation WV | 6,853 | $90K | 12.0% | 2.5% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,323 | Cross Lanes WV | 9,671 | $64K | 5.1% | 3.5% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,420 | Shasta Lake CA | 10,208 | $67K | 13.3% | 7.2% | 9% | C |
| 2,421 | LaSalle IL | 9,388 | $58K | 18.8% | 5.0% | 11% | C |
| 2,422 | Moundsville WV | 7,659 | $49K | 22.5% | 3.2% | 18% | C |
| 2,423 | Sealy TX | 7,937 | $57K | 21.4% | 5.4% | 12% | C |
| 2,424 | Hillsboro TX | 9,036 | $56K | 20.0% | 4.2% | 20% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,018 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Moundsville, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Next door to Moundsville
The biggest share goes to Glen Dale (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Moundsville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moundsville | – | C | A− | 21 min | $49,048 |
| Glen Dale | 6% | B− | B+ | 20 min | $82,308 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Moundsville’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 Moundsville: questions
What is the median household income in Moundsville?
$49,048 (±$9,080) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Moundsville?
22.5%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Moundsville?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Moundsville work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wheeling (19%, 11 mi), Glen Dale (6%, 2 mi), Morgantown (2%, 47 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Moundsville walkable?
Moundsville is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Moundsville without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Moundsville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Moundsville
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. 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.