Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki · CC BY 3.0Germantown has higher household incomes than 95% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 2.7% of residents, against 13.8% across Tennessee. Jobs and income earn Germantown A+; getting around on foot earns it C+. Home is the office for 21% of workers, 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
The work figures that set Germantown apart
Much of Germantown works one town over
70% of working residents work in a town that borders Germantown: Memphis (63%) and Collierville (7%). Next door ↓
Germantown trades workers with the towns around it
Germantown has about as many jobs (14,605) as working residents (17,241), but they are mostly different people: 15,567 residents leave for work each day while 12,931 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in Germantown are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Germantown
74% of Germantown residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 55% of the jobs based in Germantown pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A lot of Germantown works from home
21% of Germantown 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.
How Germantown earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Germantown is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #6 of 177 in Tennessee. Household income is its strongest input ($149,920, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Germantown could be anywhere from A to A+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 15,567 residents head out to work, 1,674 work right here, and 12,931 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 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.
Jobs in Germantown: what the 14,605 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Germantown, 2013 → 2023: 12,097 → 14,605. 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 Germantown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Germantown: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Germantown workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,435 commuters (the 21% 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.
63% of working residents work in Memphis
Where Germantown clocks in
63% of workers
7% 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.
The commute from Germantown, 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.
Most of Germantown commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Germantown is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns, #87 of 177 in Tennessee. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 18,233 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 4.1% of Germantown households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Germantown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,086 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 54,000, Germantown comes 45th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Brentwood TN | 45,313 | $182K | 3.6% | 2.6% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 16% | A+ |
| 44 | Valley Stream NY | 40,379 | $133K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| 45 | Germantown TN | 40,001 | $150K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 46 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| 47 | Livingston Township NJ | 32,223 | $230K | 2.3% | 4.3% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 141 | Collierville TN | 51,909 | $139K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 20% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 267 | Mount Juliet TN | 45,172 | $107K | 6.0% | 3.8% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,086 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Germantown, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
70% of Germantown works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Memphis (63%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Germantown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germantown | – | A+ | C+ | 22 min | $149,920 |
| Memphis | 63% | C− | A− | 21 min | $51,736 |
| Collierville | 7% | A | C+ | 25 min | $138,598 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Germantown’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 Germantown: questions
What is the median household income in Germantown?
$149,920 (±$8,036) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Germantown?
2.7%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Germantown?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Germantown work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Memphis (63%, 11 mi), Collierville (7%, 5 mi), Nashville (3%, 184 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Germantown walkable?
Germantown is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Germantown without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Germantown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Germantown
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.