Reed-Dorsey House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainFor about half of its working residents, Brownsville is a commute to Bowling Green
About one in ten work in Brownsville itself; outside it, Bowling Green draws the most (45%, 18 miles). 2% of workers work from home, where Kentucky as a whole has 10%. The trip to work takes 19 minutes on average, next to 24 for Kentucky and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Brownsville
Brownsville is where the jobs are
Brownsville has 960 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,500 people are in town, 61% more than the 900 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly half of Brownsville works in Bowling Green
183 working residents, 45%, have their main job in Bowling Green, 18 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in Brownsville itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Brownsville
59% of Brownsville residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Brownsville pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 89% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 408 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who commutes out of Brownsville, and who commutes in
On a workday 364 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 916 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Brownsville on a workday afternoon, 61% more than live here.
2.4 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 2024, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Brownsville, and from where
Where Brownsville clocks in
45% 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.
Inside Brownsville’s 960 jobs
960 jobs are based in Brownsville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brownsville, 2014 → 2024: 823 → 960. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Brownsville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 19 minutes in Brownsville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brownsville workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 329 commuters (the 2% 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.
The commute from Brownsville, by distance
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 2024.
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 2024, 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 Brownsville: questions
What is the median household income in Brownsville?
$35,481 (±$19,264) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brownsville?
28.0%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brownsville?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brownsville work?
11% work in town.
Can you get around Brownsville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 26% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brownsville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brownsville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.