Earning a living in Pelham
Hardly any stay in Pelham for work; outside it, Manchester is the main destination (11%, 14 miles). 0% of workers have no commute at all, where Tennessee as a whole has 13%. The trip to work takes 28 minutes on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Pelham for work, and who comes in
On a workday 148 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 164 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 (1.11 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 the trip to work from Pelham ends
Where Pelham clocks in
11% 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.
84% of the jobs in Pelham make or build things
164 jobs are based in Pelham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pelham, 2013 → 2023: 182 → 164. 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 Pelham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes each way, longer than most of Tennessee
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pelham workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 238 commuters (the 0% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Pelham
About 23% 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.
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 Pelham: questions
What is the median household income in Pelham?
$70,096 (±$43,869) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pelham?
22.2%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pelham?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pelham work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Manchester (11%, 14 mi), Altamont (9%, 10 mi), Winchester (8%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Pelham without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pelham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pelham
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.