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Jobs & commute in Cambridge

With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Cambridge works elsewhere

16 jobs are based in Cambridge; 60 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Cambridge itself; outside it, Louisville draws the most (25%, 3 miles). For 18% of workers, the job is at home, next to 10% for Kentucky as a whole.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The workday shuffle in and out of Cambridge

On a workday 60 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 16 people come in from elsewhere.

60live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
16work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night160
Workday120
160live here− 60head out to work+ 16come in to work= 120on a workday

About 120 people are in Cambridge on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.27jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Commuting out of Cambridge: the destinations

CambridgeWildwood: 1 residents work here (2%)Meadow Vale: 1 residents work here (2%)West Buechel: 1 residents work here (2%)Watterson Park: 1 residents work here (2%)Lyndon: 2 residents work here (3%)St. Matthews: 4 residents work here (7%)Shively: 2 residents work here (3%)Mount WashingtonJeffersontown: 4 residents work here (7%)Lexington: 3 residents work here (5%)Louisville: 15 residents work here (25%)LouisvilleSt. MatthewsJeffersontownLexingtonLyndonShivelyCambridge
1
Louisville3.1 mi away
25%15
2
St. Matthews2.2 mi away
7%4
3
Jeffersontown2.8 mi away
7%4
4
Lexington64.2 mi away
5%3
5
Lyndon3.2 mi away
3%2
6
Shively10.8 mi away
3%2
7
Wildwood3 mi away
2%1
8
Meadow Vale4.9 mi away
2%1
9
West Buechel3.3 mi away
2%1
102%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
43%26
The top trips

Where Cambridge clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

Cambridge is a services town

Jobs based in CambridgeJobs Cambridge residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%7%
Trade, transport & utilities0%30%
Services: health, schools, offices100%63%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less13%10%
$1,251–$3,333 a month19%20%
Over $3,333 a month69%70%

Who does it

29 or younger25%25%
30 to 5444%57%
55 and older31%18%
+78%

Jobs based in Cambridge, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 16. 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 Cambridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of Kentucky

A year of commuting
128 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Cambridge17 min
Kentucky24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
18%

of Cambridge workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
How Cambridge gets to work
97%Drive alone
2%Carpool
1%Other

Share of the 98 commuters (the 18% 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.

How far

Where in the region Cambridge works

10 mi25 mi50 mi75 miLouisville: 25% · 3.1 miSt. Matthews: 7% · 2.2 miJeffersontown: 7% · 2.8 miLexington: 5% · 64.2 miLyndon: 3% · 3.2 miShively: 3% · 10.8 miWildwood: 2% · 3 miMeadow Vale: 2% · 4.9 miWest Buechel: 2% · 3.3 miWatterson Park: 2% · 4 miLouisville 25%St. Matthews 7%Jeffersontown 7%Lexington 5%Lyndon 3%Cambridge
CambridgeTop destinations (size = commuters)
82%Under 10 mi49 residents
8%10–24 mi5 residents
0%25–50 mi0 residents
10%Over 50 mi6 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Cambridge: questions

What is the median household income in Cambridge?

$101,429 (±$30,981) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Cambridge?

1.8%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Cambridge?

17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Cambridge work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Louisville (25%, 3 mi), St. Matthews (7%, 2 mi), Jeffersontown (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Cambridge without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Cambridge, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Cambridge

Cambridge home →

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.