Jobs and earnings in Knoxville, and the trip to work
The trip to work takes 22 minutes on average, where Arkansas has 23 and the U.S. 26. Only 3% stay in Knoxville for work; outside it, Clarksville is the main destination (22%, 9 miles). 222 jobs are based in Knoxville, and 211 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Knoxville and work: the main findings
Knoxville and Clarksville trade workers both ways
Clarksville is the top workplace for Knoxville residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Knoxville come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 211 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where the trip to work from Knoxville ends
Where Knoxville clocks in
22% of workers
10% 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.
How far Knoxville goes to work
About 33% 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.
Who leaves Knoxville for work, and who comes in
On a workday 204 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 215 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
In Knoxville, 93% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Knoxville, 2013 → 2023: 239 → 222. 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 Knoxville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Knoxville spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Knoxville workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 248 commuters (the 6% 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.
Work in the towns next to Knoxville
The biggest share goes to Lamar (9%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Knoxville’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 Knoxville: questions
What is the median household income in Knoxville?
$45,714 (±$8,075) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Knoxville?
25.5%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Knoxville?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Knoxville work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Clarksville (22%, 9 mi), Russellville (10%, 14 mi), Lamar (9%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Knoxville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Knoxville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Knoxville
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.