Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0Madison has 0.0 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working residents average 28 minutes each way, next to 23 for Arkansas and 26 for the U.S. 10 jobs are based in Madison, against 233 working residents. Hardly any work in Madison; the top destination outside it is Forrest City (40%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Madison apart
Madison and Forrest City trade workers both ways
Forrest City is the top workplace for Madison residents (40%) and also where the most people who work in Madison come from (40% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Madison is a place people come home to
There are 10 jobs based in Madison, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Madison has about 490 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Madison workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 23 across Arkansas. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 233 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Madison to work: where people go
Where Madison clocks in
40% of workers
6% 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.
Madison quiets down on a workday
On a workday 231 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 8 people come in from elsewhere.
About 490 people are in Madison on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
A commute of about 28 minutes in Madison
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madison workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 145 commuters (the 5% 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.
Making and building: 30% of jobs based in Madison
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 47 → 10. 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 Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Madison to work
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 Madison: questions
What is the median household income in Madison?
$55,893 (±$48,917) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madison?
24.2%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madison?
28 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madison work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Forrest City (40%, 4 mi), Memphis (6%, 44 mi), Wynne (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Madison without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madison
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.