Photo: Carl Wycoff from Nevada, USA · CC BY 2.0Households in Covington earn less than those in 95% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Covington; the top destination outside it is Memphis (24%, 36 miles). Poverty touches 29.2% of residents; Tennessee has 13.8%. The two grades for Covington are D for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Covington: the figures worth knowing
Covington’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Covington is Memphis, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 24% of working residents (790) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Covington is where the jobs are
Covington has 7,030 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 12,000 people are in town, 44% more than the 8,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Covington draws workers from far and wide
The 7,030 jobs in Covington are filled from a wide area. Covington’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
The four measures behind Covington’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Covington is better than 8% of U.S. towns, #163 of 177 in Tennessee. Job access by car holds Covington’s grade up (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Covington could be anywhere from D to C−.
The commute from Covington, by distance
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.
The daily flow of workers through Covington
On a workday 2,287 residents head out to work, 1,007 work right here, and 6,023 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Covington on a workday afternoon, 44% more than live here.
2.1 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.
Where the people who work in Covington live
Where Covington clocks in
24% of workers
4% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 28% of the jobs in Covington
7,030 jobs are based in Covington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Covington, 2013 → 2023: 6,107 → 7,030. 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 Covington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Covington spends getting to work: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Covington workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,999 commuters (the 8% 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.
Covington is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Covington is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns, #82 of 177 in Tennessee. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.0% across Tennessee.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,245 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). 20.6% of Covington households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Covington’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 6,000 to 11,600, and where Covington sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 229 | Signal Mountain TN | 8,824 | $141K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Harrison TN | 8,011 | $89K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 382 | Tellico Village TN | 7,414 | $107K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,824 | Okmulgee OK | 11,394 | $42K | 20.6% | 8.2% | 24% | D |
| 2,825 | Pulaski TN | 8,394 | $49K | 25.7% | 7.2% | 34% | D |
| 2,826 | Covington TN | 8,585 | $42K | 29.2% | 8.8% | 31% | D |
| 2,827 | Lehman Township PA | 11,366 | $67K | 17.7% | 9.3% | 6% | D |
| 2,828 | Opp AL | 6,738 | $41K | 26.3% | 5.2% | 25% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,944 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Covington, 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 Covington: questions
What is the median household income in Covington?
$42,254 (±$7,949) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Covington?
29.2%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Covington?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Covington work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Memphis (24%, 36 mi), Jackson (4%, 46 mi), Nashville (3%, 166 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Covington walkable?
Covington is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Covington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Covington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Covington
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.