Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Greenbrier works elsewhere
Greenbrier has 1,307 jobs, against 3,529 working residents. The two grades for Greenbrier are A for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 3% work in Greenbrier; the top destination outside it is Nashville (40%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Greenbrier and work: the main findings
The better-paid jobs are outside Greenbrier
64% of Greenbrier residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Greenbrier pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
40% of Greenbrier works in Nashville
1,415 working residents, 40%, have their main job in Nashville, 17 miles away. That’s 13 times as many as work in Greenbrier itself. The commute map ↓
Many jobs in Greenbrier pay little
29% of the jobs based in Greenbrier pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 31% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Greenbrier workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Tennessee. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Greenbrier empties out on a workday
About 4,900 people are in Greenbrier on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 7,200 who live here: 3,400 head out to work and 1,200 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Greenbrier’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Greenbrier is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #20 of 177 in Tennessee. Unemployment is its strongest input (1.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($85,174, U.S. $80,734). 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, Greenbrier could be anywhere from B to A+.
The kinds of work in Greenbrier
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Greenbrier, 2013 → 2023: 1,435 → 1,307. 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 Greenbrier’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Greenbrier commutes to
Where Greenbrier clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
About 31 minutes each way, longer than most of Tennessee
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Greenbrier workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,249 commuters (the 13% 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.
Greenbrier by day and by night
On a workday 3,427 residents head out to work, 102 work right here, and 1,205 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,900 people are in Greenbrier on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
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 in the region Greenbrier works
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.
For most of Greenbrier, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Greenbrier is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns, #155 of 177 in Tennessee. Both inputs place Greenbrier 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 3,735 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). 1.4% of Greenbrier households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Greenbrier’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700, Greenbrier ranks 526th of 3,205 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 219 | Signal Mountain TN | 8,824 | $141K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Harrison TN | 8,011 | $89K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 375 | Tellico Village TN | 7,414 | $107K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 524 | New Prague MN | 8,238 | $95K | 3.2% | 2.8% | 17% | A |
| 525 | St. Francis MN | 8,635 | $111K | 7.1% | 2.4% | 6% | A |
| 526 | Greenbrier TN | 7,170 | $85K | 6.0% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| 527 | Beacon Falls CT | 6,307 | $102K | 2.1% | 4.5% | 4% | A |
| 528 | Armada Township MI | 5,384 | $106K | 6.8% | 1.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | 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 Greenbrier, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
10% of Greenbrier works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Greenbrier workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenbrier | – | A | D | 31 min | $85,174 |
| Ridgetop | under 2% | B+ | C | 28 min | $85,063 |
| Springfield | 10% | C | C+ | 29 min | $59,465 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Springfield. Darker towns draw more of Greenbrier’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 Greenbrier: questions
What is the median household income in Greenbrier?
$85,174 (±$8,692) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Greenbrier?
6.0%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Greenbrier?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Greenbrier work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nashville (40%, 17 mi), Springfield (10%, 7 mi), Goodlettsville (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Greenbrier walkable?
Greenbrier is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier, from the people who make the trip.
More of Greenbrier
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.