Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Jellico are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Jellico is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (B−). Below the poverty line: 27.7% of residents, against 13.8% across Tennessee. About one in seven stay in Jellico for work; outside it, Williamsburg is the main destination (10%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Jellico: the gist
A lot of Jellico workers cross into Kentucky
24% of Jellico workers work outside Tennessee, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Williamsburg (10%), Corbin (2%) and London (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Jellico than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Jellico fell from 1,059 in 2013 to 686 in 2023, −35%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 774 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Jellico’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Jellico is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Jellico’s grade.
Unemployment (13.1%) is left out: Jellico’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Jellico could be anywhere from D− to D.
The places Jellico commutes to
Where Jellico clocks in
10% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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.
Most jobs in Jellico are in services
686 jobs are based in Jellico.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jellico, 2013 → 2023: 1,059 → 686. 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 Jellico’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Jellico for work, and who comes in
On a workday 662 residents head out to work, 112 work right here, and 574 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 (0.89 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.
From Jellico, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jellico workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 540 commuters (the 15% 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.
Half of Jellico commutes less than 28 miles
About 22% 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.
Jellico is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 632 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). 14.9% of Jellico households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jellico’s commuters take a bus or train.
Jellico and other U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Lookout Mountain TN | 2,044 | $201K | 2.3% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Walden TN | 1,965 | $124K | 3.1% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,332 | Houston MO | 2,281 | $40K | 30.0% | 8.8% | 32% | D− |
| 5,333 | Lovelock NV | 1,771 | $42K | 25.6% | 9.2% | 20% | D− |
| 5,334 | Jellico TN | 2,126 | $41K | 27.7% | 13.1% | 14% | D− |
| 5,335 | Charlotte TX | 1,653 | $29K | 36.4% | 5.8% | 8% | D− |
| 5,336 | Spencer WV | 1,895 | $38K | 33.5% | 16.5% | 24% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | 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 Jellico, 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 Jellico: questions
What is the median household income in Jellico?
$41,467 (±$19,329) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jellico?
27.7%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jellico?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jellico work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Williamsburg (10%, 12 mi), Knoxville (8%, 42 mi), Jacksboro (8%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jellico walkable?
Jellico is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jellico without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jellico, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jellico
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.