Unemployment in Star City (1.9%) is lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
17% of workers work from home (West Virginia 9%). For jobs and income Star City is better than 48% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (A). Household incomes here are lower than in 75% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Star City, in brief
39% of Star City works in Morgantown
284 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Morgantown, 2.6 miles away across the town line. That’s 13 times as many as work in Star City itself. The commute map ↓
Star City is where the jobs are
Star City has 1,236 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most Star City residents work close to home
66% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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; with 734 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Star City gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment holds Star City’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (17.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Star City could be anywhere from C to B+.
Where Star City’s workforce comes from
Where Star City clocks in
39% of workers
4% 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.
Star City by day and by night
On a workday 709 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 1,211 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Star City on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
1.7 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 2024, primary jobs.
Miles to work from Star City
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.
What the 1,236 jobs in Star City are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Star City, 2014 → 2024: 1,130 → 1,236. 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 Star City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes each way for Star City’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Star City workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,004 commuters (the 17% 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.
Star City is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,208 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). 6.9% of Star City households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Star City’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Star City ranks: 2,141st of 5,343 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,254 | Coal Fork WV | 1,423 | $70K | 2.3% | 29.5% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,352 | Eleanor WV | 1,497 | $79K | 5.9% | 0.6% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,710 | Falling Waters WV | 2,183 | $88K | 4.3% | 10.8% | <1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,139 | Laughlin AFB TX | 1,595 | $67K | 3.1% | 7.3% | 0% | B− |
| 2,140 | Bruceville-Eddy TX | 1,483 | $76K | 12.6% | 2.4% | 3% | B− |
| 2,141 | Star City WV | 1,795 | $59K | 17.8% | 1.9% | 3% | B− |
| 2,142 | Wilson Township MI | 1,872 | $95K | 8.5% | 5.2% | 2% | B− |
| 2,143 | Windsor Township OH | 1,928 | $70K | 1.9% | 0.5% | <1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,343 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 7% | 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 Star City, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Work next door: 41% of Star City’s workers
The biggest share goes to Morgantown (39%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Star City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star City | – | B− | A | 20 min | $59,123 |
| Morgantown | 39% | B− | A | 16 min | $44,727 |
| Granville | 2% | C | B+ | 16 min | $31,901 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Star City’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 Star City: questions
What is the median household income in Star City?
$59,123 (±$8,760) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Star City?
17.8%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Star City?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Star City work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Morgantown (39%, 3 mi), Westover (4%, 2 mi), Granville (2%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Star City walkable?
Star City is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Star City without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Star City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Star City
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.