Photo: Nyttend · Public domainIsland has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Hardly any stay in Island for work; outside it, Owensboro is the main destination (19%, 22 miles). Employers in Island report 32 jobs, and 159 of its residents work somewhere. Home is the office for 3% of workers (Kentucky 10%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Island
On a workday 158 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 31 people come in from elsewhere.
About 320 people are in Island on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Island to work: where people go
Where Island clocks in
19% of workers
6% 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.
Most jobs in Island are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Island, 2013 → 2023: 29 → 32. 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 Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Island: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Island workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 201 commuters (the 3% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Island
About 21% 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 Island: questions
What is the median household income in Island?
$54,375 (±$20,944) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Island?
12.0%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Island?
34 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Island work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Owensboro (19%, 22 mi), Madisonville (7%, 21 mi), Calhoun (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Island 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 Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of Island
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.