Photo: GamblinMonkey · Public domainHouseholds in Newbern have lower incomes than those in 76% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Newbern itself; outside it, Dyersburg draws the most (39%, 8 miles). Poverty touches 18.0% of residents, where Tennessee as a whole has 13.8%. Jobs and income earn Newbern C; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Newbern, in brief
Newbern makes and builds things
52% of the jobs based in Newbern are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Newbern residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Newbern are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 26 across Tennessee. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Tennessee worker. Time on the road ↓
39% of Newbern works in Dyersburg
592 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Dyersburg, 7.7 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in Newbern itself. The commute map ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Newbern: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Newbern is better than 30% of U.S. towns, #116 of 177 in Tennessee. Unemployment holds Newbern’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newbern could be anywhere from D to B.
Making and building: 52% of jobs based in Newbern
1,260 jobs are based in Newbern.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newbern, 2013 → 2023: 1,185 → 1,260. 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 Newbern’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of Tennessee
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newbern workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,291 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where people from Newbern work
Where Newbern clocks in
39% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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.
Newbern on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,353 residents head out to work, 163 work right here, and 1,097 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 (0.83 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.
How far it is to work from Newbern
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.
Driving is how Newbern gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newbern is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #62 of 177 in Tennessee. Both inputs place Newbern 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 1,402 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). 5.3% of Newbern households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Newbern’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Newbern ranks: 3,056th of 4,316 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 377 | Piperton TN | 2,889 | $130K | 4.6% | 3.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Falling Water TN | 2,315 | $112K | 7.3% | 1.5% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,054 | O'Neill NE | 3,567 | $57K | 18.5% | 0.5% | 10% | C |
| 3,055 | Spencer OK | 3,857 | $60K | 15.1% | 8.7% | 1% | C |
| 3,056 | Newbern TN | 3,222 | $58K | 18.0% | 3.0% | 11% | C |
| 3,057 | Rush Township PA | 3,516 | $76K | 12.0% | 11.2% | 7% | C |
| 3,058 | Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente CA | 3,347 | $86K | 25.2% | 6.7% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,316 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Newbern, 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 Newbern: questions
What is the median household income in Newbern?
$58,455 (±$7,423) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newbern?
18.0%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newbern?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newbern work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dyersburg (39%, 8 mi), Jackson (8%, 40 mi), Memphis (4%, 80 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newbern walkable?
Newbern is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newbern without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newbern, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newbern
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.