Household incomes in Central trail those of 97% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 13% for Tennessee as a whole. Poverty touches 11.7% of residents, where Tennessee as a whole has 13.8%. Jobs and income earn Central C; getting around on foot earns it D−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Central: the figures worth knowing
Much of Central works one town over
53% of working residents work in a town that borders Central: Johnson City (40%) and Elizabethton (13%). Next door ↓
Central is a place people come home to
There are 34 jobs based in Central, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Central has about 1,000 people in it, 46% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Most Central residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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 928 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Central gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Central is better than 29% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Central’s grade up (ahead of 63% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($37,444, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (5.1%) is left out: Central’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, Central could be anywhere from C− to B.
Central quiets down on a workday
On a workday 922 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 28 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Central on a workday afternoon, 46% fewer than live here.
0.04 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Miles to work from Central
About 18% 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.
40% of working residents work in Johnson City
Where Central clocks in
40% of workers
13% 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.
59% of the jobs in Central make or build things
34 jobs are based in Central.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Central, 2013 → 2023: 49 → 34. 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 Central’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes each way for Central’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Central workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 726 commuters (the 4% 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.
Central is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Central is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Central 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 754 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). 0.0% of Central households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Central’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Central ranks: 3,253rd of 5,234 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Lookout Mountain TN | 2,044 | $201K | 2.3% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 180 | Walden TN | 1,965 | $124K | 3.1% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 215 | Fairmount TN | 2,110 | $137K | 3.7% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,251 | Tekonsha Township MI | 1,579 | $69K | 15.4% | 6.8% | 4% | C |
| 3,252 | New Lebanon NY | 2,477 | $76K | 10.7% | 5.1% | 14% | C |
| 3,253 | Central TN | 1,938 | $37K | 11.7% | 5.1% | 1% | C |
| 3,254 | Taylor AL | 2,359 | $67K | 16.0% | 6.0% | 2% | C |
| 3,255 | South Whitley IN | 1,850 | $58K | 13.8% | 4.4% | 7% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Central, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
Bordering towns draw 53% of Central’s workers
The biggest share goes to Johnson City (40%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Central workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | – | C | D− | 19 min | $37,444 |
| Elizabethton | 13% | C− | B | 21 min | $46,975 |
| Johnson City | 40% | C | B+ | 19 min | $57,254 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Central’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 Central: questions
What is the median household income in Central?
$37,444 (±$24,441) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Central?
11.7%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Central?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Central work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Johnson City (40%, 5 mi), Elizabethton (13%, 3 mi), Kingsport (6%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Central walkable?
Central is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Central without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Central, from the people who make the trip.
More of Central
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.