With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Washington works elsewhere
30% of workers work from home, where West Virginia as a whole has 9%. Washington has 60 jobs for 482 working residents. For jobs and income Washington is better than 42% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns (D−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Washington, in a few figures
Washington and Parkersburg trade workers both ways
Parkersburg is the top workplace for Washington residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Washington come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Washington is a place people come home to
There are 60 jobs based in Washington, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Washington has about 720 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Washington
30% of Washington workers work from home, against 9% across West Virginia. 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 482 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Washington’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Washington’s grade up (6.9%, U.S. 12.5%); household income pulls it down ($60,365, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (3.6%) is left out: Washington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Washington could be anywhere from D to A−.
34% of working residents work in Parkersburg
Where Washington clocks in
34% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Washington
On a workday 479 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 57 people come in from elsewhere.
About 720 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of West Virginia
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 339 commuters (the 30% 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.
Jobs in Washington: what the 60 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 45 → 60. 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 Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Washington’s commute, mile by mile
About 24% 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 Washington, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 486 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). 2.2% of Washington households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,568th of 3,771: where Washington ranks among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 470 | Belle WV | 1,088 | $77K | 3.3% | 10.6% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 605 | Barrackville WV | 1,196 | $79K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 719 | Coal Fork WV | 1,423 | $70K | 2.3% | 29.5% | <1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,566 | St. Armand NY | 1,377 | $81K | 6.3% | 3.3% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,567 | Lake WI | 1,113 | $70K | 3.9% | 4.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,568 | Washington WV | 1,139 | $60K | 6.9% | 3.6% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,569 | Burton OH | 1,424 | $69K | 13.8% | 1.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,570 | Jackson Township IN | 1,397 | $62K | 7.1% | 1.3% | 4% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Washington, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Next door to Washington
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | – | C+ | D− | 35 min | $60,365 |
| Blennerhassett | under 2% | B− | C | 15 min | $88,487 |
| Lubeck | under 2% | B− | D− | 19 min | $71,171 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Washington’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 Washington: questions
What is the median household income in Washington?
$60,365 (±$36,598) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
6.9%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
35 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parkersburg (34%, 6 mi), Vienna (5%, 9 mi), Marietta (4%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Washington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washington
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.