Watterson Park’s household incomes are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C: better than 34% of U.S. towns on income, poverty and job access.
Walkability B−: more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns.
Working residents average 22 minutes each way (Kentucky 24, U.S. 26). Only 5% work in Watterson Park; the top destination outside it is Louisville (27%, 1 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Watterson Park
Watterson Park fills up on a workday
Watterson Park has 21,866 jobs, 47.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 22,000 people are in town, 22 times the 1,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Watterson Park residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Watterson Park and Louisville trade workers both ways
Louisville is the top workplace for Watterson Park residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Watterson Park come from (39% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 462 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Watterson Park’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Watterson Park is better than 34% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Watterson Park’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($39,844, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (15.2%) is left out: Watterson Park’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Watterson Park could be anywhere from C to C+.
Watterson Park’s population more than triples on a workday
On a workday 437 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 21,841 people come in from elsewhere.
About 22,000 people are in Watterson Park on a workday afternoon, 2076% more than live here.
47.3 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.
Half of Watterson Park commutes less than 6 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Where Watterson Park’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Watterson Park clocks in
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
21,866 jobs are based in Watterson Park. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watterson Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watterson Park, 2013 → 2023: 26,328 → 21,866. 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 22 minutes each way, about the KY average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watterson Park workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 253 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Most trips from Watterson Park start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watterson Park is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Kentucky.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 286 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 21.9% of Watterson Park households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Watterson Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
Watterson Park is 1,586th of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Watterson Park, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Coldstream KY | 1,325 | $109K | 2.8% | 0.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Heritage Creek KY | 1,244 | $100K | 2.4% | 1.6% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Verona KY | 1,394 | $145K | 3.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,584 | Cool Valley MO | 1,005 | $54K | 28.8% | 6.7% | 0% | C |
| 1,585 | Aubbeenaubbee Township IN | 1,347 | $78K | 9.3% | 9.5% | 1% | C |
| 1,586 | Watterson Park KY | 1,031 | $40K | 17.2% | 15.2% | 5% | C |
| 1,587 | Truesdale MO | 1,054 | $59K | 10.9% | 3.9% | 8% | C |
| 1,588 | Gettysburg SD | 1,049 | $64K | 4.8% | 2.0% | 30% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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.
Watterson Park and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Watterson Park’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Watterson Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watterson Park | – | C | B− | 22 min | $39,844 |
| West Buechel | under 2% | C | A+ | 24 min | $48,784 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Watterson Park: questions
What is the median household income in Watterson Park?
$39,844 (±$8,488) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watterson Park?
17.2%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watterson Park?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watterson Park work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Louisville (27%, 1 mi), Jeffersontown (5%, 6 mi), Lexington (3%, 67 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Watterson Park walkable?
Watterson Park is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watterson Park without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 22% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Watterson Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watterson Park
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.