Photo: NealVickers · CC BY-SA 4.0There are 5.0 jobs in Pigeon Forge for every working resident, and 12,694 people commute in
There are 13,725 jobs in Pigeon Forge, against 2,753 working residents. The two grades for Pigeon Forge are C for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Measured by household income, Pigeon Forge is behind 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Pigeon Forge and work: the main findings
Pigeon Forge fills up on a workday
Pigeon Forge has 13,725 jobs, 5.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 18,000 people are in town, more than double the 6,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Pigeon Forge draws workers from far and wide
The 13,725 jobs in Pigeon Forge are filled from a wide area. Pigeon Forge’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 67% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most Pigeon Forge residents work close to home
67% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Fewer than half of Pigeon Forge workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Pigeon Forge’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Pigeon Forge and Sevierville trade workers both ways
Sevierville is the top workplace for Pigeon Forge residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Pigeon Forge come from (12% of its jobs). 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.
What’s behind Pigeon Forge’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pigeon Forge is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #107 of 177 in Tennessee. Job access by car holds Pigeon Forge’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pigeon Forge could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Who leaves Pigeon Forge for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,722 residents head out to work and 1,031 work right here.
About 18,000 people are in Pigeon Forge on a workday afternoon, 166% more than live here.
5.0 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.
The daily trip into Pigeon Forge
Where Pigeon Forge clocks in
16% 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.
Half of Pigeon Forge commutes less than 5 miles
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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Pigeon Forge
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pigeon Forge, 2013 → 2023: 10,391 → 13,725. 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 Pigeon Forge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Pigeon Forge: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pigeon Forge workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,611 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.
In Pigeon Forge, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pigeon Forge is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #60 of 177 in Tennessee. Both inputs place Pigeon Forge 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 2,764 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). 4.1% of Pigeon Forge households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pigeon Forge’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,283 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900, Pigeon Forge comes 2,369th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Signal Mountain TN | 8,824 | $141K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 325 | Harrison TN | 8,011 | $89K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 357 | Tellico Village TN | 7,414 | $107K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,367 | Wailea HI | 6,352 | $90K | 14.0% | 6.0% | 20% | C |
| 2,368 | Galliano LA | 5,906 | $50K | 18.3% | 1.0% | 19% | C |
| 2,369 | Pigeon Forge TN | 6,598 | $53K | 21.0% | 3.5% | 37% | C |
| 2,370 | Grayson Valley AL | 6,077 | $65K | 20.4% | 6.1% | <1% | C |
| 2,371 | Attalla AL | 5,807 | $59K | 11.3% | 5.5% | 11% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | 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 Pigeon Forge, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
16% of Pigeon Forge works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pigeon Forge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pigeon Forge | – | C | B− | 21 min | $53,261 |
| Sevierville | 16% | C | C+ | 24 min | $52,421 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Sevierville. Darker towns draw more of Pigeon Forge’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 Pigeon Forge: questions
What is the median household income in Pigeon Forge?
$53,261 (±$2,906) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pigeon Forge?
21.0%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pigeon Forge?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pigeon Forge work?
37% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sevierville (16%, 6 mi), Gatlinburg (9%, 6 mi), Knoxville (6%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pigeon Forge walkable?
Pigeon Forge is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pigeon Forge without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pigeon Forge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pigeon Forge
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.