Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMaking a living in Rupert
The average commute takes 28 minutes each way, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers (West Virginia 9%). Only 3% stay in Rupert for work; outside it, Lewisburg is the main destination (9%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Rupert in brief
A big share show a job far from home
38% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Few Rupert workers work from home
Only 0% 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; with 231 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Miles to work from Rupert
About 38% 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.
Commuting from Rupert: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rupert workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 322 commuters (the 0% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 225 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 196 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 (0.87 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.
Where people from Rupert work
Where Rupert clocks in
9% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
What Rupert’s employers do
202 jobs are based in Rupert.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rupert, 2013 → 2023: 208 → 202. 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 Rupert’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Rupert: questions
What is the median household income in Rupert?
$28,194 (±$14,263) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rupert?
50.0%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rupert?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rupert work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lewisburg (9%, 18 mi), Fairlea (5%, 19 mi), Rainelle (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rupert without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rupert, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rupert
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.