Photo: SuperDalio · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Nitro are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns
Only 5% stay in Nitro for work; outside it, Charleston is the main destination (26%, 10 miles). The poverty rate is 20.2% (West Virginia 16.7%). Nitro grades C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Nitro at work: what stands out
Nitro trades workers with the towns around it
Nitro has about as many jobs (2,613) as working residents (2,652), but they are mostly different people: 2,528 residents leave for work each day while 2,489 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Nitro are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
49% of the jobs in Nitro are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Few Nitro workers work from home
Only 3% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Nitro’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Nitro is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #37 of 61 in West Virginia. Job access by car holds Nitro’s grade up (ahead of 65% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nitro could be anywhere from D to B.
Nitro on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,528 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 2,489 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 (0.99 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What Nitro’s employers do
2,613 jobs are based in Nitro.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nitro, 2013 → 2023: 3,262 → 2,613. 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 Nitro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Nitro: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nitro workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,093 commuters (the 3% 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 Nitro’s working residents head each day
Where Nitro clocks in
26% of workers
6% 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.
How far Nitro goes to work
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Nitro
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Nitro is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #21 of 61 in West Virginia. Both inputs place Nitro 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 3,185 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). 11.6% of Nitro households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Nitro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Nitro is 2,647th among 3,349 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,500
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,304 | Ranson corporation WV | 6,853 | $90K | 12.0% | 2.5% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,601 | Pea Ridge WV | 6,988 | $66K | 9.8% | 2.4% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,634 | Hurricane WV | 7,367 | $71K | 8.5% | 3.6% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,645 | Lander WY | 7,379 | $75K | 9.5% | 7.4% | 52% | C− |
| 2,646 | Saranac Lake NY | 4,793 | $62K | 17.7% | 3.0% | 25% | C− |
| 2,647 | Nitro WV | 6,270 | $54K | 20.2% | 5.4% | 5% | C− |
| 2,648 | Noble Township OH | 5,919 | $67K | 10.6% | 11.3% | 13% | C− |
| 2,649 | Concordia KS | 4,991 | $51K | 12.2% | 3.2% | 43% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,349 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Nitro, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
How Nitro compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Teays Valley (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Nitro workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitro | – | C− | A− | 25 min | $53,848 |
| Cross Lanes | 3% | B | B− | 26 min | $63,537 |
| Institute | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Jefferson | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Teays Valley | 4% | A | C+ | 24 min | $108,741 |
Same-state neighbors only. Institute and Jefferson: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Nitro’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 Nitro: questions
What is the median household income in Nitro?
$53,848 (±$5,336) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nitro?
20.2%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nitro?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nitro work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charleston (26%, 10 mi), South Charleston (6%, 7 mi), Teays Valley (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nitro walkable?
Nitro is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nitro without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nitro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nitro
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.