Unemployment in Pleasant Valley (2.2%) is lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Pleasant Valley is better than 61% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (C+). A typical one-way commute lasts 23 minutes; West Virginia averages 27, the U.S. 26. Measured by household income, Pleasant Valley is behind 62% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Pleasant Valley, in brief
Pleasant Valley trades workers with the towns around it
Pleasant Valley has about as many jobs (1,516) as working residents (1,465), but they are mostly different people: 1,393 residents leave for work each day while 1,444 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Pleasant Valley are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Pleasant Valley and Fairmont trade workers both ways
Fairmont is the top workplace for Pleasant Valley residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Pleasant Valley come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Pleasant Valley than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Pleasant Valley fell from 2,227 in 2014 to 1,516 in 2024, −32%. 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 ↓
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.
Where Pleasant Valley’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Unemployment holds Pleasant Valley’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($67,635, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pleasant Valley could be anywhere from C to A.
How many people are in Pleasant Valley by day
On a workday 1,393 residents head out to work, 72 work right here, and 1,444 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 (1.03 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.
18% of working residents work in Fairmont
Where Pleasant Valley clocks in
18% of workers
13% of workers
7% 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 1,516 jobs based in Pleasant Valley
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pleasant Valley, 2014 → 2024: 2,227 → 1,516. 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 Pleasant Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Pleasant Valley: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pleasant Valley workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,484 commuters (the 13% 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 Pleasant Valley’s workers travel
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Pleasant Valley walk, bike or ride to work
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 1,700 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). 8.8% of Pleasant Valley households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pleasant Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,535 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700, Pleasant Valley comes 1,723rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 743 | Pinch WV | 4,037 | $77K | 5.1% | 0.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,057 | Williamstown WV | 2,922 | $89K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,455 | Bethlehem WV | 2,520 | $83K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,721 | Milton NH | 4,562 | $94K | 8.1% | 3.2% | 5% | B |
| 1,722 | Stonewall LA | 2,716 | $57K | 9.7% | 0.4% | 4% | B |
| 1,723 | Pleasant Valley WV | 3,457 | $68K | 9.0% | 2.2% | 5% | B |
| 1,724 | Bloomer WI | 3,634 | $58K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | B |
| 1,725 | Washington CT | 3,733 | $102K | 9.0% | 4.4% | 27% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Pleasant Valley, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Work next door: 18% of Pleasant Valley’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pleasant Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Valley | – | B | C+ | 23 min | $67,635 |
| Fairmont | 18% | C− | A | 23 min | $63,032 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fairmont. Darker towns draw more of Pleasant Valley’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 Pleasant Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Pleasant Valley?
$67,635 (±$15,275) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pleasant Valley?
9.0%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pleasant Valley?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pleasant Valley work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fairmont (18%, 2 mi), Morgantown (13%, 17 mi), Bridgeport (7%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Pleasant Valley walkable?
Pleasant Valley is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pleasant Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pleasant Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pleasant Valley
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.