Demographics

Two conflicting trends—the continuous birth decline over the last 18 years and the post-pandemic recovery in school enrollment since 2021—have made it difficult to predict the future of school enrollment.

Commuting patterns can reveal important information about communities, such as how people access jobs, how regions are linked economically, and where transportation and housing investments might be needed. To help illuminate commuting flows within Virginia and its 133 localities, we created the Virginia Commuting Patterns dashboard.

A tightening labor supply will give workers more choice in who they work for, while the persistence of remote work will allow many workers more freedom in where they choose to live. That shift is creating new opportunities for rural regions like Southwest Virginia.