At 1.5%, unemployment in Falling Water is lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Falling Water is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Falling Water are A for jobs and income and C for walkability. 22% of workers work from home, next to 13% for Tennessee as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Falling Water at work: what stands out
Much of Falling Water works one town over
68% of working residents work in a town that borders Falling Water: Chattanooga (64%) and Soddy-Daisy (4%). Next door ↓
Falling Water is a place people come home to
There are 33 jobs based in Falling Water, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Falling Water has about 1,700 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Falling Water works from home
22% of Falling Water workers work from home, against 13% across Tennessee. 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; with 696 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Falling Water gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.3%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Falling Water could be anywhere from B to A+.
Falling Water quiets down on a workday
On a workday 695 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 32 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Falling Water on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.05 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.
The trip to work from Falling Water: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Falling Water workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 893 commuters (the 22% 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.
64% of working residents work in Chattanooga
Where Falling Water clocks in
64% 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.
55% of the jobs in Falling Water make or build things
33 jobs are based in Falling Water.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Falling Water, 2013 → 2023: 10 → 33. 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 Falling Water’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Falling Water
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.
Most trips from Falling Water start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Falling Water is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Falling Water 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 1,142 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.8% of Falling Water households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Falling Water’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Falling Water ranks: 380th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Lookout Mountain TN | 2,044 | $201K | 2.3% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Walden TN | 1,965 | $124K | 3.1% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 378 | Hudson Oaks TX | 2,800 | $125K | 3.4% | 4.4% | 2% | A |
| 379 | Pleasant Township OH | 1,719 | $124K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 0% | A |
| 380 | Falling Water TN | 2,315 | $112K | 7.3% | 1.5% | <1% | A |
| 381 | Benton Township KS | 2,350 | $97K | 5.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A |
| 382 | Meadowdale WA | 3,009 | $174K | 6.2% | 3.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | 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 Falling Water, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
Falling Water and its neighbors: 68% work next door
The biggest share goes to Chattanooga (64%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Falling Water workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falling Water | – | A | C | 26 min | $111,842 |
| Soddy-Daisy | 4% | B− | C− | 27 min | $75,113 |
| Chattanooga | 64% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $64,523 |
| Walden | under 1% | A | B | 25 min | $124,493 |
| Mowbray Mountain | under 1% | B+ | D− | 29 min | $93,293 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Falling Water’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 Falling Water: questions
What is the median household income in Falling Water?
$111,842 (±$14,047) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Falling Water?
7.3%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Falling Water?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Falling Water work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chattanooga (64%, 9 mi), Soddy-Daisy (4%, 7 mi), Nashville (4%, 109 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Falling Water walkable?
Falling Water is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Falling Water without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Falling Water, from the people who make the trip.
More of Falling Water
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.