Chattanooga draws more than half of Lakesite’s working residents
Only 1% work in Lakesite; the top destination outside it is Chattanooga (62%, 11 miles). Lakesite grades A− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Measured by household income, Lakesite is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lakesite at work: what stands out
More than half of Lakesite works in Chattanooga
491 working residents, 62%, have their main job in Chattanooga, 11 miles away. That’s 62 times as many as work in Lakesite itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lakesite
64% of Lakesite residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 36% of the jobs based in Lakesite pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Lakesite has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lakesite went from 327 in 2013 to 512 in 2023, +57%. 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 793 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Lakesite gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lakesite is better than 79% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lakesite could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Where people from Lakesite work
Where Lakesite clocks in
62% of workers
3% 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.
What work there is in Lakesite: 512 jobs
512 jobs are based in Lakesite.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lakesite, 2013 → 2023: 327 → 512. 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 Lakesite’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lakesite on a workday afternoon
On a workday 784 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 503 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Lakesite on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
Lakesite’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lakesite workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 911 commuters (the 17% 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.
How far it is to work from Lakesite
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.
For most of Lakesite, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lakesite is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Lakesite 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 1,099 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). 5.1% of Lakesite households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lakesite’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lakesite is 769th of 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 4 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Lookout Mountain TN | 2,044 | $201K | 2.3% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Walden TN | 1,965 | $124K | 3.1% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 767 | Morris AL | 2,360 | $102K | 6.7% | 3.6% | 2% | A− |
| 768 | Farley IA | 1,718 | $97K | 3.6% | 4.9% | 13% | A− |
| 769 | Lakesite TN | 1,980 | $96K | 4.2% | 3.5% | 1% | A− |
| 770 | Scotland CT | 1,591 | $100K | 4.8% | 2.8% | 6% | A− |
| 771 | St. Rose Township IL | 1,467 | $107K | 4.3% | 1.4% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | 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 Lakesite, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
The towns around Lakesite
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lakesite workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakesite | – | A− | D | 28 min | $96,250 |
| Middle Valley | under 1% | A− | D | 24 min | $95,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lakesite’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 Lakesite: questions
What is the median household income in Lakesite?
$96,250 (±$16,769) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lakesite?
4.2%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lakesite?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lakesite work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chattanooga (62%, 11 mi), Nashville (4%, 114 mi), Cleveland (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lakesite walkable?
Lakesite is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lakesite without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lakesite, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lakesite
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.