With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Shady Spring works elsewhere
Employers in Shady Spring report 371 jobs, against 1,135 working residents. For jobs and income Shady Spring is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−). Only 2% stay in Shady Spring for work; outside it, Beckley is the main destination (31%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Shady Spring
Fewer jobs are based in Shady Spring than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Shady Spring fell from 654 in 2013 to 371 in 2023, −43%. 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 ↓
Shady Spring and Beckley trade workers both ways
Beckley is the top workplace for Shady Spring residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Shady Spring come from (12% of its jobs). 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.
The four measures behind Shady Spring’s grade
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Shady Spring’s grade.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shady Spring could be anywhere from D− to A−.
Jobs in Shady Spring: what the 371 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shady Spring, 2013 → 2023: 654 → 371. 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 Shady Spring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Shady Spring commutes to
Where Shady Spring clocks in
31% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
Who works in Shady Spring, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,108 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 344 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in Shady Spring on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting from Shady Spring: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shady Spring workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,377 commuters (the 8% 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.
The distance from Shady Spring to work
About 17% 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.
In Shady Spring, most people drive 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 1,496 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). 2.6% of Shady Spring households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Shady Spring’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Shady Spring is 3,461st among 4,402 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600
| # | 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 717 | Pinch WV | 4,037 | $77K | 5.1% | 0.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,019 | Williamstown WV | 2,922 | $89K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,408 | Bethlehem WV | 2,520 | $83K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,459 | Wellsboro PA | 3,393 | $66K | 9.3% | 6.8% | 32% | C− |
| 3,460 | Pierce Township IN | 2,559 | $57K | 14.2% | 5.7% | 1% | C− |
| 3,461 | Shady Spring WV | 3,381 | $67K | 13.8% | 5.8% | 2% | C− |
| 3,462 | Northern Cambria PA | 3,399 | $55K | 29.2% | 3.2% | 15% | C− |
| 3,463 | Perry Township OH | 3,341 | $53K | 18.3% | 5.1% | 6% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Shady Spring, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Shady Spring and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Daniels (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shady Spring workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Spring | – | C− | C− | 27 min | $67,407 |
| Daniels | 1% | C− | C | 27 min | $60,278 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shady Spring’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 Shady Spring: questions
What is the median household income in Shady Spring?
$67,407 (±$29,716) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shady Spring?
13.8%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shady Spring?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shady Spring work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beckley (31%, 7 mi), Charleston (3%, 54 mi), Princeton (2%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shady Spring walkable?
Shady Spring is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shady Spring without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shady Spring, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shady Spring
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.