Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Melbourne works elsewhere
Working residents average 24 minutes each way, about the same as across Kentucky. There are 26 jobs in Melbourne, against 190 working residents. Hardly any stay in Melbourne for work; outside it, Cincinnati is the main destination (22%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Melbourne quiets down on a workday
On a workday 190 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 26 people come in from elsewhere.
About 330 people are in Melbourne on a workday afternoon, 33% 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.
Commuting out of Melbourne: the destinations
Where Melbourne clocks in
22% of workers
8% 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.
What Melbourne’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Melbourne, 2013 → 2023: 12 → 26. 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 Melbourne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Melbourne spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Melbourne workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 172 commuters (the 15% 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.
Where in the region Melbourne works
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.
Melbourne and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Melbourne workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | – | — | — | 24 min | $80,000 |
| Silver Grove | under 2% | B− | C− | 24 min | $46,595 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Melbourne’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 Melbourne: questions
What is the median household income in Melbourne?
$80,000 (±$22,095) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Melbourne?
24.3%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Melbourne?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Melbourne work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (22%, 10 mi), Covington (8%, 8 mi), Florence (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Melbourne without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Melbourne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Melbourne
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.