Dr. George Rigas House · Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Weirton (7.1%) than in 83% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Weirton is behind 75% of U.S. towns. Weirton grades C− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. About one in four work in Weirton itself; outside it, Pittsburgh draws the most (5%, 31 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Weirton: the gist
Weirton trades workers with the towns around it
Weirton has about as many jobs (8,472) as working residents (8,324), but they are mostly different people: 5,915 residents leave for work each day while 6,063 people come in. Only 28% of the jobs in Weirton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Many of the people who work in Weirton live in another state
Steubenville, OH (5%), Island Creek Township, OH (3%) and Toronto, OH (2%) are among the top places Weirton’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 12% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. 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.
Jobs & income in Weirton: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Weirton is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #42 of 61 in West Virginia. Job access by car holds Weirton’s grade up (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Weirton could be anywhere from D to C+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Weirton
On a workday 5,915 residents head out to work, 2,409 work right here, and 6,063 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 (1.02 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 the trip to work from Weirton ends
Where Weirton clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Weirton: what the 8,472 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Weirton, 2013 → 2023: 8,290 → 8,472. 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 Weirton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Weirton, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Weirton workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,544 commuters (the 11% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Weirton
About 19% 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.
Most of Weirton commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Weirton is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #50 of 61 in West Virginia. Both inputs place Weirton 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 8,484 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). 8.5% of Weirton households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Weirton’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,612th of 1,822: where Weirton ranks among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 365 | Teays Valley WV | 14,151 | $109K | 5.1% | 2.0% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,479 | South Charleston WV | 13,072 | $64K | 16.9% | 7.0% | 16% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,486 | Martinsburg WV | 19,211 | $60K | 19.8% | 5.2% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,610 | Holly Hill FL | 13,268 | $55K | 21.5% | 7.5% | 6% | C− |
| 1,611 | Clarksburg WV | 15,562 | $47K | 23.5% | 4.4% | 22% | C− |
| 1,612 | Weirton WV | 18,133 | $60K | 12.6% | 7.1% | 29% | C− |
| 1,613 | Radcliff KY | 22,576 | $59K | 15.9% | 9.3% | 10% | C− |
| 1,614 | Marshall MO | 13,766 | $54K | 17.1% | 4.1% | 43% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Weirton, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
Work in the towns next to Weirton
The biggest share goes to Steubenville (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Weirton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weirton | – | C− | C+ | 23 min | $59,575 |
| Colliers | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Colliers: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Weirton’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 Weirton: questions
What is the median household income in Weirton?
$59,575 (±$5,465) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Weirton?
12.6%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Weirton?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Weirton work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (5%, 31 mi), Steubenville (4%, 6 mi), Findlay Township (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Weirton walkable?
Weirton is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Weirton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Weirton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Weirton
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.