Photo: The original uploader was Pollinator at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and earnings in Murfreesboro, and the trip to work
A typical one-way commute from Murfreesboro lasts 27 minutes (Tennessee 26, U.S. 26). The two grades for Murfreesboro are B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in four work in Murfreesboro itself; outside it, Nashville draws the most (25%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Murfreesboro apart
Murfreesboro’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Murfreesboro is Nashville, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 25% of working residents (18,149) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Murfreesboro trades workers with the towns around it
Murfreesboro has about as many jobs (69,601) as working residents (71,388), but they are mostly different people: 51,310 residents leave for work each day while 49,523 people come in. Only 29% of the jobs in Murfreesboro are held by people who live here. 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.
What’s behind Murfreesboro’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Murfreesboro is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #48 of 177 in Tennessee. Job access by car holds Murfreesboro’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Murfreesboro could be anywhere from B to B+.
Miles to work from Murfreesboro
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.
How many people are in Murfreesboro by day
On a workday 51,310 residents head out to work, 20,078 work right here, and 49,523 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 (0.97 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.
Where Murfreesboro goes to work
Where Murfreesboro clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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 Murfreesboro: 69,601 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Murfreesboro, 2013 → 2023: 55,884 → 69,601. 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 Murfreesboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Murfreesboro’s commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Murfreesboro workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 73,614 commuters (the 16% 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.
The commute in Murfreesboro is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Murfreesboro is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #45 of 177 in Tennessee. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 87,875 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 7% 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 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% 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). 3.5% of Murfreesboro households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Murfreesboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Murfreesboro places 64th of 179 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 120,000 to 231,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| 3 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Pasadena CA | 135,804 | $105K | 13.3% | 5.6% | 20% | B+ |
| 63 | Aurora IL | 181,505 | $94K | 9.5% | 5.8% | 16% | B+ |
| 64 | Murfreesboro TN | 171,178 | $80K | 8.8% | 4.3% | 28% | B+ |
| 65 | Fontana CA | 221,223 | $103K | 9.9% | 6.5% | 9% | B+ |
| 66 | Fullerton CA | 138,675 | $104K | 12.3% | 6.3% | 10% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 133 | Clarksville TN | 188,829 | $69K | 12.3% | 5.5% | 38% | C+ |
| 134 | Chattanooga TN | 194,144 | $65K | 19.1% | 5.4% | 67% | C+ |
| 135 | Knoxville TN | 202,021 | $54K | 20.2% | 4.5% | 52% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 179 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Murfreesboro, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
Work in the towns next to Murfreesboro
The biggest share goes to Smyrna (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Murfreesboro workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murfreesboro | – | B+ | B− | 27 min | $80,108 |
| Rockvale | under 2% | B− | D− | 46 min | $86,404 |
| Walterhill | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Smyrna | 7% | B | C | 26 min | $81,926 |
Same-state neighbors only. Walterhill: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Murfreesboro’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 Murfreesboro: questions
What is the median household income in Murfreesboro?
$80,108 (±$2,209) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Murfreesboro?
8.8%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Murfreesboro?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Murfreesboro work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nashville (25%, 30 mi), Smyrna (7%, 10 mi), Franklin (6%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Murfreesboro walkable?
Murfreesboro is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Murfreesboro without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Murfreesboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Murfreesboro
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.