Memphis has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 1 jobs in Memphis; 12 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Memphis itself; outside it, Aliceville draws the most (25%, 8 miles). 27% of workers have no commute at all, where Alabama as a whole has 9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Memphis
On a workday 12 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 1 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15 people are in Memphis on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
Where the trip to work from Memphis ends
Where Memphis clocks in
25% of workers
17% 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.
Making and building: 100% of jobs based in Memphis
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Memphis, 2013 → 2023: 18 → 1. 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 Memphis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Memphis
of Memphis workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11 commuters (the 27% who work from home are left out). Across Alabama: 88% 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.
How far Memphis’ workers travel
About 27% 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.
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 Memphis: questions
What is the median household income in Memphis?
$2,499 (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Memphis?
28.6%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Memphis work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aliceville (25%, 8 mi), Carrollton (17%, 15 mi), Tuscaloosa (17%, 46 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Memphis without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Memphis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Memphis
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.