Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Centerville (1.5%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 75% of U.S. towns. Centerville grades C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in four work in Centerville itself; outside it, Nashville draws the most (9%, 44 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Centerville
Centerville’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Centerville is Nashville, 44 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (121) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Centerville workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 26 across Tennessee. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Centerville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Centerville is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #79 of 177 in Tennessee. Unemployment holds Centerville’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 16% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Centerville could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The distance from Centerville to work
About 19% 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.
Centerville’s commute takes about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Centerville workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,367 commuters (the 9% 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.
A workday in Centerville: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 993 residents head out to work, 312 work right here, and 1,589 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,200 people are in Centerville on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.46 per resident).
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 Centerville: the destinations
Where Centerville clocks in
9% 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.
Inside Centerville’s 1,901 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Centerville, 2013 → 2023: 1,754 → 1,901. 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 Centerville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Centerville, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Centerville is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #64 of 177 in Tennessee.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,503 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). 7.3% of Centerville households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Centerville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Centerville places 2,466th of 4,355 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Oak Hill TN | 4,581 | $216K | 1.2% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Forest Hills TN | 4,473 | $250K | 6.7% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,464 | Benton NY | 3,014 | $75K | 19.4% | 0.9% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,465 | La Paloma TX | 2,797 | $60K | 24.8% | 1.5% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,466 | Centerville TN | 3,589 | $59K | 9.6% | 1.5% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,467 | Dodds Township IL | 2,682 | $62K | 7.7% | 4.2% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,468 | Marion Township IN | 4,065 | $68K | 11.5% | 5.4% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Centerville, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
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 Centerville: questions
What is the median household income in Centerville?
$59,167 (±$13,074) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Centerville?
9.6%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Centerville?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Centerville work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nashville (9%, 44 mi), Dickson (9%, 17 mi), Franklin (6%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Centerville walkable?
Centerville is more walkable than 47% 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 Centerville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Centerville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Centerville
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.