Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Wheeling has lower household incomes than 89% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 20.5% of residents, where West Virginia as a whole has 16.7%. The two grades for Wheeling are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. About two in five work in Wheeling itself; outside it, Pittsburgh draws the most (2%, 46 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Wheeling
Wheeling is where the jobs are
Wheeling has 19,030 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Wheeling are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across West Virginia. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical West Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
Wheeling draws workers from far and wide
The 19,030 jobs in Wheeling are filled from a wide area. Wheeling’s own residents hold 25% and the ten next-biggest home towns 19%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. 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 Wheeling: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wheeling is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #49 of 61 in West Virginia. Job access by car holds Wheeling’s grade up (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($48,590, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wheeling could be anywhere from D to C−.
A workday in Wheeling: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 7,268 residents head out to work, 4,812 work right here, and 14,218 people come in from elsewhere.
About 33,000 people are in Wheeling on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.6 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 2023, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Wheeling: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wheeling workers work from home, vs 9% across West Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,490 commuters (the 7% 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 towns that send workers to Wheeling
Where Wheeling clocks in
2% of workers
2% 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.
Jobs in Wheeling: what the 19,030 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wheeling, 2013 → 2023: 21,258 → 19,030. 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 Wheeling’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Wheeling
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.
Wheeling is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wheeling is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #12 of 61 in West Virginia. Both inputs place Wheeling 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 11,270 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). 15.7% of Wheeling households have no vehicle (West Virginia 8.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Wheeling’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Wheeling sits among U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,024 | Morgantown WV | 30,293 | $45K | 30.4% | 6.2% | 40% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,339 | Martinsburg WV | 19,211 | $60K | 19.8% | 5.2% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,399 | Fairmont WV | 18,035 | $63K | 17.4% | 6.7% | 22% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,491 | Boone NC | 19,929 | $30K | 51.2% | 12.0% | 37% | C− |
| 1,492 | Oildale CA | 34,687 | $51K | 25.2% | 11.6% | 9% | C− |
| 1,493 | Wheeling WV | 25,680 | $49K | 20.5% | 6.5% | 40% | C− |
| 1,494 | Desert Hot Springs CA | 34,009 | $53K | 18.0% | 6.6% | 11% | C− |
| 1,495 | Gainesville TX | 18,528 | $59K | 19.1% | 8.1% | 28% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Wheeling, the top three, the last and three more from West Virginia.
The towns around Wheeling
The biggest share goes to Martins Ferry (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wheeling workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling | – | C− | A | 20 min | $48,590 |
| Bethlehem | 1% | B+ | B− | 19 min | $83,409 |
| Clearview | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Triadelphia | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Benwood | under 2% | D | A | 21 min | $43,636 |
Same-state neighbors only. Clearview and Triadelphia: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wheeling’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 Wheeling: questions
What is the median household income in Wheeling?
$48,590 (±$2,959) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $59,608 across West Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wheeling?
20.5%, against 16.7% across West Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wheeling?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across West Virginia and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wheeling work?
40% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (2%, 46 mi), Moundsville (2%, 11 mi), Morgantown (2%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wheeling walkable?
Wheeling is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wheeling without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wheeling, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wheeling
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.