Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0A job hub: Cookeville has 2.6 jobs per working resident, and 26,648 people come in to work
For jobs and income Cookeville is better than 28% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (B+). Employers in Cookeville report 32,878 jobs; 12,659 of its residents have a job. Household incomes here are lower than in 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Cookeville
Cookeville is where the jobs are
Cookeville has 32,878 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 58,000 people are in town, 53% more than the 38,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Cookeville draws workers from far and wide
The 32,878 jobs in Cookeville are filled from a wide area. Cookeville’s own residents hold 19% and the ten next-biggest home towns 11%; the other 70% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Cookeville are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 26 across Tennessee. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Tennessee worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Cookeville
Job access by car holds Cookeville’s grade up (ahead of 58% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (23.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cookeville could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Cookeville by day and by night
On a workday 6,429 residents head out to work and 6,230 work right here.
About 58,000 people are in Cookeville on a workday afternoon, 53% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Cookeville: where workers come from
Where Cookeville clocks in
3% of workers
2% 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.
Cookeville’s commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cookeville workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,404 commuters (the 11% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Cookeville
About 32% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What Cookeville’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cookeville, 2014 → 2024: 27,148 → 32,878. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cookeville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Cookeville is mostly behind the wheel
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 17,243 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). 5.1% of Cookeville households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Cookeville’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Cookeville ranks: 973rd of 1,113 U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Brentwood TN | 45,313 | $182K | 3.6% | 2.6% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Germantown TN | 40,001 | $150K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Collierville TN | 51,909 | $139K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 971 | Rock Island IL | 36,225 | $59K | 21.0% | 6.3% | 23% | C |
| 972 | New Bern NC | 34,724 | $61K | 17.3% | 4.6% | 41% | C |
| 973 | Cookeville TN | 38,212 | $51K | 23.5% | 3.8% | 49% | C |
| 974 | Leisure City FL | 27,808 | $42K | 24.5% | 4.5% | 2% | C |
| 975 | Mishawaka IN | 51,226 | $54K | 16.4% | 6.8% | 21% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Cookeville, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
The towns around Cookeville
The biggest share goes to Algood (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cookeville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookeville | – | C | B+ | 19 min | $51,375 |
| Algood | 2% | C | C− | 22 min | $42,359 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cookeville’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 2024, 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 Cookeville: questions
What is the median household income in Cookeville?
$51,375 (±$3,726) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cookeville?
23.5%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cookeville?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cookeville work?
49% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nashville (7%, 71 mi), Knoxville (3%, 88 mi), Chattanooga (2%, 76 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Cookeville walkable?
Cookeville is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cookeville without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cookeville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cookeville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.