Photo: EEJCC · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Covington have lower incomes than those in 72% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes (Kentucky 24, U.S. 26). 20.8% of residents live below the poverty line; Kentucky has 16.1%. About one in seven work in Covington itself; outside it, Cincinnati draws the most (15%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Covington: the gist
Covington trades workers with the towns around it
Covington has about as many jobs (18,403) as working residents (19,162), but they are mostly different people: 16,705 residents leave for work each day while 15,946 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Covington are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Covington workers cross into Ohio
26% of Covington workers work outside Kentucky, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Cincinnati (15%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Most Covington residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Covington draws workers from far and wide
The 18,403 jobs in Covington are filled from a wide area. Covington’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Covington’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Covington is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #76 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Covington’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Covington could be anywhere from C to B−.
How many people are in Covington by day
On a workday 16,705 residents head out to work, 2,457 work right here, and 15,946 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 (0.96 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.
The towns that employ Covington’s residents
Where Covington clocks in
15% of workers
8% 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.
How far Covington goes to work
About 15% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
18,403 jobs are based in Covington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Covington, 2013 → 2023: 17,999 → 18,403. 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 Covington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Covington: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Covington workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,045 commuters (the 14% 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.
Covington is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 21,010 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 77% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 14.5% of Covington households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Covington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Covington next to U.S. towns of 29,000 to 56,000: 861st of 1,037 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 324 | Jeffersontown KY | 29,193 | $82K | 6.5% | 2.8% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 460 | Independence KY | 30,198 | $102K | 8.8% | 4.3% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 530 | Florence KY | 34,018 | $71K | 9.5% | 3.1% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 859 | Palm Springs CA | 45,315 | $73K | 11.8% | 7.7% | 30% | C+ |
| 860 | Grand Island NE | 53,943 | $64K | 15.2% | 4.6% | 65% | C+ |
| 861 | Covington KY | 41,847 | $61K | 20.8% | 5.7% | 13% | C+ |
| 862 | Chicopee MA | 55,310 | $63K | 17.3% | 6.3% | 17% | C+ |
| 863 | Pekin IL | 31,277 | $61K | 12.8% | 6.1% | 20% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,037 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Covington, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
Next door to Covington
The biggest share goes to Erlanger (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Covington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covington | – | C+ | A | 22 min | $61,166 |
| Taylor Mill | under 2% | A− | B | 21 min | $88,546 |
| Fort Wright | 2% | A | B− | 20 min | $105,024 |
| Ludlow | under 2% | C+ | A | 21 min | $65,284 |
| Park Hills | under 2% | B+ | B− | 19 min | $99,861 |
| Wilder | under 2% | B− | C | 20 min | $70,893 |
| Erlanger | 3% | B | B | 21 min | $75,840 |
| Ryland Heights | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Independence | under 2% | B+ | C | 27 min | $102,361 |
| Newport | 3% | C | A+ | 20 min | $60,853 |
| Kenton Vale | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ryland Heights and Kenton Vale: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Covington’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 Covington: questions
What is the median household income in Covington?
$61,166 (±$4,263) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Covington?
20.8%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Covington?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Covington work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (15%, 7 mi), Florence (8%, 8 mi), Newport (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Covington walkable?
Covington is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Covington without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 77% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Covington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Covington
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.