Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Martin
Only 4% work in Martin itself; outside it, Prestonsburg draws the most (26%, 8 miles). Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers; Kentucky has 10%. The average commute takes 19 minutes each way, where Kentucky has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Martin by day and by night
On a workday 148 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 254 people come in from elsewhere.
About 590 people are in Martin on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.7 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.
Who travels to work in Martin, and from where
Where Martin clocks in
26% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Martin: what the 260 are
260 jobs are based in Martin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Martin, 2013 → 2023: 477 → 260. 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 Martin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Martin, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Martin workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 128 commuters (the 4% 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.
Miles to work from Martin
About 22% 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 Martin: questions
What is the median household income in Martin?
$30,682 (±$23,600) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Martin?
39.7%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Martin?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Martin work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Prestonsburg (26%, 8 mi), Pikeville (8%, 14 mi), Hazard (4%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Martin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 23% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Martin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Martin
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.