Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0How Calhoun works: jobs, income and commuting
Only 4% stay in Calhoun for work; outside it, Cleveland is the main destination (23%, 11 miles). 5% of workers work from home, next to 13% for Tennessee as a whole. Working residents average 25 minutes each way, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Calhoun on a workday
On a workday 179 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 312 people come in from elsewhere.
About 700 people are in Calhoun on a workday afternoon, 23% 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 Calhoun, and from where
Where Calhoun clocks in
23% of workers
16% of workers
11% 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.
Goods, not services: 87% of the jobs in Calhoun
319 jobs are based in Calhoun.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Calhoun, 2013 → 2023: 183 → 319. 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 Calhoun’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Calhoun
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Calhoun workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 268 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Tennessee: 87% 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 far Calhoun goes to work
About 16% 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.
Calhoun and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Charleston (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Calhoun workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calhoun | – | — | — | 25 min | $49,028 |
| Charleston | 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Charleston: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Calhoun’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 Calhoun: questions
What is the median household income in Calhoun?
$49,028 (±$15,698) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Calhoun?
18.3%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Calhoun?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Calhoun work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cleveland (23%, 11 mi), Athens (16%, 13 mi), Chattanooga (11%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Calhoun without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Calhoun, from the people who make the trip.
More of Calhoun
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.