Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Charleston (1.6%) than in 89% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in Charleston for work; outside it, Fort Smith is the main destination (34%, 19 miles). Charleston grades B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Charleston, in a few figures
Charleston workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 23 across Arkansas. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
One in three of Charleston works in Fort Smith
360 working residents, 34%, have their main job in Fort Smith, 19 miles away. That’s more than work in Charleston itself. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Charleston
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Charleston is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #33 of 123 in Arkansas. Unemployment holds Charleston’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($56,600, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Charleston could be anywhere from C to B+.
A commute of about 35 minutes in Charleston
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Charleston workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,051 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Arkansas: 87% 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.
Where people from Charleston work
Where Charleston clocks in
34% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Charleston
On a workday 848 residents head out to work, 197 work right here, and 446 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Charleston on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
What the 643 jobs in Charleston are
643 jobs are based in Charleston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Charleston, 2013 → 2023: 536 → 643. 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 Charleston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Charleston commutes
About 25% 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.
In Charleston, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Charleston is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns, #77 of 123 in Arkansas. Both inputs place Charleston 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 1,140 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). 4.2% of Charleston households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Charleston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Charleston is 2,328th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | Johnson AR | 3,684 | $96K | 2.2% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 239 | Goshen AR | 2,405 | $150K | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 355 | Salem AR | 2,642 | $74K | 2.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,326 | Janesville CA | 2,399 | $78K | 7.5% | 2.4% | 0% | B− |
| 2,327 | Thorsby AL | 2,203 | $76K | 8.8% | 3.4% | 3% | B− |
| 2,328 | Charleston AR | 2,760 | $57K | 9.9% | 1.6% | 19% | B− |
| 2,329 | Hayden CO | 2,250 | $91K | 6.6% | 3.9% | 12% | B− |
| 2,330 | Leesburg GA | 3,597 | $79K | 17.3% | 2.1% | 8% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Charleston, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
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 Charleston: questions
What is the median household income in Charleston?
$56,600 (±$11,302) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Charleston?
9.9%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Charleston?
35 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Charleston work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Smith (34%, 19 mi), Van Buren (2%, 20 mi), Russellville (2%, 51 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Charleston walkable?
Charleston is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Charleston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Charleston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Charleston
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.