Photo: Wdyo222 · CC BY-SA 4.0Princeton’s household incomes are lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C−: better than 17% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #107 of 142 in Kentucky.
Walkability B−: more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns · #75 of 142 in Kentucky.
Working residents average 21 minutes each way (Kentucky 24, U.S. 26). About two in five work in Princeton; the top destination outside it is Hopkinsville (6%, 29 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Princeton
What’s behind Princeton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Princeton is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #107 of 142 in Kentucky. Unemployment holds Princeton’s grade up (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($47,411, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Princeton could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Princeton fills up on a workday
On a workday 1,458 residents head out to work, 977 work right here, and 3,087 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,800 people are in Princeton on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
Where Princeton’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Princeton clocks in
6% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Princeton makes things: 34% of its jobs are in goods
4,064 jobs are based in Princeton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 3,644 → 4,064. 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.
About 21 minutes each way, quicker than most of Kentucky
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Princeton workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,244 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Princeton commutes less than 13 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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.
Most trips from Princeton start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Princeton is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #75 of 142 in Kentucky. Both inputs place Princeton near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,367 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.3% of Princeton households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Princeton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Princeton is 2,907th of 3,370 U.S. towns of 4,300 to 8,300 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Princeton, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Union KY | 7,937 | $137K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 283 | Fort Wright KY | 6,240 | $105K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 301 | Prospect KY | 4,705 | $163K | 2.4% | 4.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,905 | Floral City FL | 5,437 | $62K | 15.0% | 5.3% | 3% | C− |
| 2,906 | Clinton IN | 4,771 | $43K | 21.4% | 4.2% | 11% | C− |
| 2,907 | Princeton KY | 6,168 | $47K | 15.8% | 4.5% | 40% | C− |
| 2,908 | Silsbee TX | 6,613 | $60K | 20.0% | 7.3% | 17% | C− |
| 2,909 | Oak Hill WV | 7,629 | $52K | 21.7% | 4.6% | 12% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,370 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
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 Princeton: questions
What is the median household income in Princeton?
$47,411 (±$13,154) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Princeton?
15.8%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Princeton?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Princeton work?
40% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hopkinsville (6%, 29 mi), Paducah (3%, 42 mi), Eddyville (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Princeton walkable?
Princeton is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Princeton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Princeton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Princeton
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.