Photo: Public domain · Public domainHouseholds in Paris have lower incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 26.3% of residents (Tennessee 13.8%). Jobs and income earn Paris C−; getting around on foot earns it B. About one in three work in Paris; the top destination outside it is Nashville (7%, 85 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Paris and work: the main findings
Paris draws workers from far and wide
The 7,381 jobs in Paris are filled from a wide area. Paris’ own residents hold 20% and the ten next-biggest home towns 8%; the other 72% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Paris is where the jobs are
Paris has 7,381 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Paris 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
The four measures behind Paris’ grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Paris is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #126 of 177 in Tennessee. Unemployment holds Paris’ grade up (2.2%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($41,012, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Paris could be anywhere from D to C.
Commuting in to Paris: where workers come from
Where Paris clocks in
4% 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.
Who commutes out of Paris, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,532 residents head out to work, 1,450 work right here, and 5,931 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Paris on a workday afternoon, 32% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Each way, about 17 minutes from Paris
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Paris workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,789 commuters (the 6% 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 Paris goes to work
About 32% 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.
Inside Paris’ 7,381 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Paris, 2013 → 2023: 6,939 → 7,381. 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 Paris’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Paris walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Paris is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #39 of 177 in Tennessee. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 4,037 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). 8.9% of Paris households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Paris’ commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000, Paris comes 2,382nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 219 | Signal Mountain TN | 8,824 | $141K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 339 | Harrison TN | 8,011 | $89K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 385 | Tellico Village TN | 7,414 | $107K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,380 | Harrison AR | 13,802 | $44K | 14.9% | 3.7% | 50% | C− |
| 2,381 | Winnemucca NV | 8,307 | $82K | 14.0% | 5.7% | 42% | C− |
| 2,382 | Paris TN | 10,468 | $41K | 26.3% | 2.2% | 36% | C− |
| 2,383 | Canteen Township IL | 7,714 | $50K | 27.1% | 7.1% | 5% | C− |
| 2,384 | Galena Park TX | 10,352 | $51K | 20.9% | 15.4% | 3% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Paris, 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 Paris: questions
What is the median household income in Paris?
$41,012 (±$2,546) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Paris?
26.3%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Paris?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Paris work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nashville (7%, 85 mi), Jackson (4%, 53 mi), Clarksville (3%, 57 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Paris walkable?
Paris is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Paris without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Paris, from the people who make the trip.
More of Paris
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.