McDowell has 1.9 jobs for every working resident: 255 people commute in to work
Home is the office for 0% of workers (Kentucky 10%). McDowell has 259 jobs, against 135 working residents. Only 3% work in McDowell itself; outside it, Prestonsburg draws the most (15%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through McDowell
On a workday 131 residents head out to work and 4 work right here.
About 840 people are in McDowell on a workday afternoon, 17% more 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.
Commuting in to McDowell: where workers come from
Where McDowell clocks in
15% of workers
7% 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 McDowell: what the 259 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McDowell, 2013 → 2023: 103 → 259. 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 McDowell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in McDowell
of McDowell workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28 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.
How many miles McDowell commutes
About 35% 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 McDowell: questions
What is the median household income in McDowell?
$14,474 (±$12,951) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McDowell?
72.4%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in McDowell work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Prestonsburg (15%, 15 mi), Pikeville (7%, 11 mi), Lexington (4%, 103 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around McDowell without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McDowell, from the people who make the trip.
More of McDowell
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.