Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Shinnston (2.1%) than in 83% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 23 minutes each way; West Virginia averages 27, the U.S. 26. Shinnston grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in ten work in Shinnston; the top destination outside it is Bridgeport (25%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Shinnston in brief
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Shinnston
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shinnston is better than 55% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Shinnston’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (11.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shinnston could be anywhere from C to A−.
Where in the region Shinnston works
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.
Shinnston quiets down on a workday
On a workday 960 residents head out to work, 95 work right here, and 655 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Shinnston on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.71 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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 people from Shinnston work
Where Shinnston clocks in
25% of workers
12% of workers
6% 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.
Inside Shinnston’s 750 jobs
750 jobs are based in Shinnston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shinnston, 2013 → 2023: 879 → 750. 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 Shinnston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Shinnston takes 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 Shinnston workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,092 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.
Shinnston is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shinnston is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Shinnston 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 1,185 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). 5.2% of Shinnston households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Shinnston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000, Shinnston ranks 1,882nd of 5,102 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 926 | Williamstown WV | 2,922 | $89K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,336 | Bethlehem WV | 2,520 | $83K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,586 | Kenova WV | 2,841 | $54K | 9.0% | 0.0% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,880 | Central Garage VA | 1,864 | $88K | 12.2% | 3.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,881 | Stewartstown PA | 2,225 | $81K | 9.5% | 5.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,882 | Shinnston WV | 2,241 | $70K | 11.8% | 2.1% | 9% | B |
| 1,883 | Bainbridge Township MI | 2,625 | $75K | 7.3% | 3.8% | 5% | B |
| 1,884 | Liberty Township OH | 2,482 | $76K | 12.4% | 2.8% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Shinnston, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Around Shinnston: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shinnston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinnston | – | B | A | 23 min | $69,844 |
| Enterprise | under 1% | B | D | 26 min | $63,636 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shinnston’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 Shinnston: questions
What is the median household income in Shinnston?
$69,844 (±$12,837) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shinnston?
11.8%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shinnston?
23 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 Shinnston work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bridgeport (25%, 7 mi), Clarksburg (12%, 9 mi), Fairmont (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shinnston walkable?
Shinnston is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.1 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shinnston 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 Shinnston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shinnston
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.