Photo: Jim.henderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Earlington’s household incomes are lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Earlington are D− for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 39.3% of residents, next to 16.1% for Kentucky as a whole. Commuters spend 17 minutes getting to work on average, next to 24 for Kentucky and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Earlington
Earlington and Madisonville trade workers both ways
Madisonville is the top workplace for Earlington residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Earlington come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Earlington are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kentucky worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 407 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Earlington’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Earlington is better than 4% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Earlington’s grade up (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (4.7%) is left out: Earlington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Earlington could be anywhere from D− to D.
36% of working residents work in Madisonville
Where Earlington clocks in
3% 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.
About 17 minutes each way for Earlington’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Earlington workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 421 commuters (the 5% 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 daily commute in and out of Earlington
On a workday 402 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 123 people come in from elsewhere.
About 980 people are in Earlington on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.31 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
What Earlington’s employers do
128 jobs are based in Earlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Earlington, 2013 → 2023: 206 → 128. 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 Earlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Earlington
About 25% 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.
For most of Earlington, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Earlington is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Earlington near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 443 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.7% of Earlington households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Earlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Earlington sits among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Pewee Valley KY | 1,668 | $157K | 3.0% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Audubon Park KY | 1,457 | $101K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Coldstream KY | 1,325 | $109K | 2.8% | 0.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,511 | Dover AR | 1,385 | $32K | 30.5% | 2.6% | 5% | D− |
| 4,512 | Kinsley KS | 1,312 | $49K | 19.3% | 7.3% | 37% | D− |
| 4,513 | Earlington KY | 1,262 | $38K | 39.3% | 4.7% | 1% | D− |
| 4,514 | Purdy MO | 1,062 | $37K | 36.9% | 12.3% | 5% | D− |
| 4,515 | Seven Points TX | 1,530 | $40K | 26.6% | 10.0% | 3% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Earlington, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
Bordering towns draw 36% of Earlington’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Earlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earlington | – | D− | D− | 17 min | $38,194 |
| Madisonville | 36% | D | C+ | 18 min | $53,860 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Madisonville. Darker towns draw more of Earlington’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 Earlington: questions
What is the median household income in Earlington?
$38,194 (±$12,816) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Earlington?
39.3%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Earlington?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Earlington work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madisonville (36%, 4 mi), Owensboro (3%, 40 mi), Hanson (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Earlington walkable?
Earlington is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Earlington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Earlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Earlington
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.