Photo: Princetonnative · CC BY 4.0Princeton’s household incomes are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C+: better than 36% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #25 of 61 in West Virginia.
Walkability A: more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns · #15 of 61 in West Virginia.
Working residents average 17 minutes each way (West Virginia 27, U.S. 26). About one in four work in Princeton; the top destination outside it is Beckley (6%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Princeton
Princeton is where the jobs are
Princeton has 6,035 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,400 people are in town, 68% more than the 5,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Princeton draws workers from far and wide
The 6,035 jobs in Princeton are filled from a wide area. Princeton’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 15%; the other 76% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Princeton are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 27 across West Virginia. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical West Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
No single place dominates Princeton’s commute
The biggest draw, Beckley, gets only 6% of working residents, and 56% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Princeton residents fan out across the region. 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.
What’s behind Princeton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Princeton is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #25 of 61 in West Virginia. Unemployment holds Princeton’s grade up (1.6%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($43,900, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Princeton could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Princeton nearly doubles on a workday
On a workday 1,662 residents head out to work, 572 work right here, and 5,463 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,400 people are in Princeton on a workday afternoon, 68% more than live here.
2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 Princeton’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Princeton clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of West Virginia
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Princeton workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,266 commuters (the 10% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
6,035 jobs are based in Princeton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 6,592 → 6,035. 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.
Half of Princeton commutes less than 5 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 16% 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.
Princeton is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Princeton is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #15 of 61 in West Virginia. Both inputs place Princeton 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 2,519 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). 12.1% of Princeton households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Princeton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Princeton is 2,398th of 3,502 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,500 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Princeton, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 704 | Pinch WV | 4,037 | $77K | 5.1% | 0.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,317 | Ranson corporation WV | 6,853 | $90K | 12.0% | 2.5% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,622 | Pea Ridge WV | 6,988 | $66K | 9.8% | 2.4% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,396 | Geneva OH | 5,806 | $54K | 17.1% | 2.9% | 17% | C+ |
| 2,397 | Throop PA | 4,113 | $57K | 14.7% | 5.3% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,398 | Princeton WV | 5,578 | $44K | 16.9% | 1.6% | 26% | C+ |
| 2,399 | Madison Township OH | 6,468 | $59K | 16.1% | 1.5% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,400 | Kodiak AK | 5,281 | $90K | 7.5% | 8.3% | — | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,502 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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.
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 Princeton: questions
What is the median household income in Princeton?
$43,900 (±$7,620) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Princeton?
16.9%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Princeton?
17 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Princeton work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beckley (6%, 28 mi), Bluefield (6%, 10 mi), Charleston (2%, 74 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Princeton walkable?
Princeton is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Princeton without a car?
1% 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 Princeton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Princeton
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.