William E. Wells House · Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Newell are lower than in 74% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Newell are D for jobs and income and C− for walkability. 25.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 16.7% across West Virginia. Only 3% stay in Newell for work; outside it, Weirton is the main destination (8%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Newell apart on work
Newell makes and builds things
79% of the jobs based in Newell are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Newell residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 24%. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Newell than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Newell fell from 1,582 in 2013 to 349 in 2023, −78%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Newell workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 27 across West Virginia. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (22 to 30 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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 540 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Newell earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Newell is better than 9% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Newell’s grade up ($60,278, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (18.2%) is left out: Newell’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, Newell could be anywhere from D− to C+.
In Newell, 79% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
349 jobs are based in Newell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newell, 2013 → 2023: 1,582 → 349. 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 Newell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Newell: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newell workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 406 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.
How many people are in Newell by day
On a workday 525 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 334 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Newell on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.65 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 Newell’s working residents head each day
Where Newell clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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 commute from Newell, by distance
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Newell commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newell is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.5% across West Virginia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 435 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). 15.4% of Newell households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Newell’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Newell ranks: 4,077th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 633 | Belle WV | 1,088 | $77K | 3.3% | 10.6% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 805 | Barrackville WV | 1,196 | $79K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Coal Fork WV | 1,423 | $70K | 2.3% | 29.5% | <1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,075 | Morgantown MS | 1,038 | $52K | 19.2% | 5.6% | 0% | D |
| 4,076 | Saunders Lake OR | 1,338 | $64K | 18.1% | 0.0% | 2% | D |
| 4,077 | Newell WV | 1,246 | $60K | 25.8% | 18.2% | 3% | D |
| 4,078 | Hampton AR | 1,145 | $46K | 13.1% | 6.3% | 7% | D |
| 4,079 | Ironton MO | 1,408 | $47K | 14.5% | 3.6% | 16% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Newell, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
10% of Newell works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Chester (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Newell’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 Newell: questions
What is the median household income in Newell?
$60,278 (±$27,182) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newell?
25.8%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newell?
35 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 Newell work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Weirton (8%, 14 mi), Chester (6%, 2 mi), Findlay Township (5%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newell walkable?
Newell is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newell without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newell
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.