Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0Where Allen earns its living
Hardly any work in Allen itself; outside it, Prestonsburg draws the most (23%, 5 miles). 17% of workers work from home (Kentucky 10%). Working residents average 17 minutes each way; Kentucky averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Allen for work, and who comes in
On a workday 47 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 81 people come in from elsewhere.
About 200 people are in Allen on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Allen: where workers come from
Where Allen clocks in
23% of workers
13% 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.
What Allen’s employers do
81 jobs are based in Allen.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Allen, 2013 → 2023: 172 → 81. 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 Allen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Allen spends getting to work: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Allen workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 43 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% 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.
Allen’s commute, mile by mile
About 23% 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 Allen: questions
What is the median household income in Allen?
$36,250 (±$19,382) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Allen?
23.1%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Allen?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Allen work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Prestonsburg (23%, 5 mi), Pikeville (13%, 14 mi), Hazard (6%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Allen without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 25% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Allen, from the people who make the trip.
More of Allen
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.