Memphis and Arkansas Bridge · Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in West Memphis trail those of 94% of U.S. towns
29.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 16.0% across Arkansas. The two grades for West Memphis are D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in four stay in West Memphis for work; outside it, Memphis is the main destination (28%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets West Memphis apart on work
A lot of West Memphis workers cross into Tennessee
36% of West Memphis workers work outside Arkansas, most of them in Tennessee, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
A lot of West Memphis works one town over
38% of working residents work in a town that borders West Memphis: Memphis (28%) and Marion (10%). Next door ↓
West Memphis trades workers with the towns around it
West Memphis has about as many jobs (9,591) as working residents (9,529), but they are mostly different people: 6,673 residents leave for work each day while 6,735 people come in. Only 30% of the jobs in West Memphis are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Many of the people who work in West Memphis live in another state
Memphis, TN (11%), Southaven, MS (2%) and Bartlett, TN (1%) are among the top places West Memphis’ workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 14% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Fewer than half of West Memphis workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of West Memphis’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind West Memphis’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Memphis is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #80 of 123 in Arkansas. Job access by car holds West Memphis’ grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (14.5%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Memphis could be anywhere from D to C−.
Where the trip to work from West Memphis ends
Where West Memphis clocks in
28% of workers
10% of workers
3% 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.
Who works in West Memphis, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,673 residents head out to work, 2,856 work right here, and 6,735 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 (1.01 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.
What West Memphis’ employers do
9,591 jobs are based in West Memphis.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Memphis, 2013 → 2023: 11,772 → 9,591. 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 West Memphis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From West Memphis, about 20 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Memphis workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,078 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.
Miles to work from West Memphis
About 19% 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.
Driving is how West Memphis gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Memphis is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #17 of 123 in Arkansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.0% across Arkansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,633 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 83% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.9% of West Memphis households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Memphis’ commuters take a bus or train.
West Memphis next to U.S. towns of 16,000 to 32,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 249 | Centerton AR | 27,176 | $116K | 5.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 523 | Bryant AR | 22,815 | $83K | 5.6% | 2.6% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 587 | Maumelle AR | 19,780 | $103K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,702 | Jackson MI | 31,022 | $45K | 24.6% | 9.1% | 30% | D |
| 1,703 | Bristol VA | 16,418 | $50K | 18.0% | 6.3% | 27% | D |
| 1,704 | West Memphis AR | 23,336 | $43K | 29.1% | 14.5% | 30% | D |
| 1,705 | Immokalee FL | 26,361 | $48K | 28.3% | 4.3% | 18% | D |
| 1,706 | Paris TX | 25,205 | $47K | 26.0% | 5.3% | 47% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,780 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 West Memphis, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
38% of West Memphis works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Memphis workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Memphis | – | D | B+ | 20 min | $42,674 |
| Marion | 10% | B | C− | 22 min | $78,330 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Memphis. Darker towns draw more of West Memphis’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 West Memphis: questions
What is the median household income in West Memphis?
$42,674 (±$6,475) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Memphis?
29.1%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Memphis?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Memphis work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Memphis (28%, 13 mi), Marion (10%, 4 mi), Jonesboro (3%, 54 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Memphis walkable?
West Memphis is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Memphis without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Memphis, from the people who make the trip.
More of West 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. 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.