The U.S. Census Bureau recently released 2017 commuting data, via its OnTheMap online product, which analyzes employment patterns for communities throughout the U.S.
The graph below, entitled Top 15 Destinations the West Piedmont Planning District Commuted to in 2017, shows the top 15 counties and cities to which workers residing in the West Piedmont Planning District were employed in during 2017; some of these localities are within the region. The graph ranks each locality by the number of workers who commuted there, as well as by percentage of all commuters. The percentages displayed within the graph are not shares of the total commuters comprising the top 15 commuter destinations, but rather, the total of all commuters residing in the West Piedmont Planning District. The graph shows that the City of Danville, Henry County, Franklin County, Pittsylvania County, and the City of Martinsville round out the top five locations commuters within the region commuted to in 2017; this indicates that many commuters were commuting intra-regionally. Within the top 10 commute destinations were localities outside of the region including the City of Roanoke, Roanoke County, Campbell County, and the City of Lynchburg.
The graph entitled Top 15 Home Localities of Commuters to the West Piedmont Planning District in 2017 displays just the opposite of the first graph, or the top 15 localities from which workers commuted to the region in 2017, again by total and percentage of all commuters. Rounding out the top five localities of residence included Pittsylvania County, Henry County, the City of Danville, Franklin County, and Patrick County. Localities of residence that fell within the top 10 and were located outside of the region included Rockingham County, NC; Halifax County; Caswell County, NC; and Roanoke County.
According to the OnTheMap website, data sources utilized to identify commuting patterns include Unemployment Insurance Wage Records, the Quarterly Census for Employment and Wages, and the Office of Personnel Management.
