There are 2.3 jobs in Hickory for every working resident, and 237 people commute in
Hardly any stay in Hickory for work; outside it, Paducah is the main destination (30%, 18 miles). Employers in Hickory report 238 jobs for 102 working residents. Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers, 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
Who leaves Hickory for work, and who comes in
On a workday 101 residents head out to work and 1 work right here.
About 160 people are in Hickory on a workday afternoon, 591% more than live here.
2.3 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.
The towns that send workers to Hickory
Where Hickory clocks in
30% of workers
14% of workers
5% 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.
A place that makes things: 39% of Hickory’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hickory, 2013 → 2023: 272 → 238. 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 Hickory’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Hickory
of Hickory workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9 commuters (the 0% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Hickory
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.
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 Hickory: questions
Where do people who live in Hickory work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paducah (30%, 18 mi), Mayfield (14%, 6 mi), Benton (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hickory, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hickory
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.