Rockvale Store · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Rockvale has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
There are 29 jobs in Rockvale; 549 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Rockvale are B− for jobs and income and D− for walkability. A typical one-way commute from Rockvale lasts 46 minutes (Tennessee 26, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Rockvale, in a few figures
Rockvale is a place people come home to
There are 29 jobs based in Rockvale, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Rockvale has about 1,100 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Rockvale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 46 minutes each way, against 26 across Tennessee. Over a year that’s about 353 hours of commuting, 153 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Rockvale and Murfreesboro trade workers both ways
Murfreesboro is the top workplace for Rockvale residents (30%) and also where the most people who work in Rockvale come from (10% 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; with 549 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Rockvale’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Rockvale is better than 54% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Rockvale’s grade up (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (4.4%) is left out: Rockvale’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Rockvale could be anywhere from C− to A+.
Rockvale on a workday afternoon
On a workday 548 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 28 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Rockvale on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
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 long Rockvale spends getting to work: about 46 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockvale workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 622 commuters (the 14% 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.
30% of working residents work in Murfreesboro
Where Rockvale clocks in
30% of workers
7% 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.
Goods jobs make up 34% of work in Rockvale
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockvale, 2013 → 2023: 10 → 29. 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 Rockvale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Rockvale’s commute, mile by mile
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.
The commute in Rockvale is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rockvale is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Rockvale 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 721 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.6% of Rockvale households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rockvale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rockvale places 2,048th of 6,161 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Lookout Mountain TN | 2,044 | $201K | 2.3% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 202 | Walden TN | 1,965 | $124K | 3.1% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 232 | Fairmount TN | 2,110 | $137K | 3.7% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,046 | Berlin Township OH | 1,794 | $78K | 5.7% | 0.0% | <1% | B− |
| 2,047 | Dotsero CO | 1,306 | $84K | 2.5% | 5.9% | 5% | B− |
| 2,048 | Rockvale TN | 1,611 | $86K | 14.7% | 4.4% | <1% | B− |
| 2,049 | West Baraboo WI | 1,572 | $61K | 9.6% | 2.1% | 4% | B− |
| 2,050 | Hopedale Township IL | 1,806 | $98K | 12.2% | 9.0% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Rockvale, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
30% of Rockvale works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockvale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockvale | – | B− | D− | 46 min | $86,404 |
| Murfreesboro | 30% | B+ | B− | 27 min | $80,108 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Murfreesboro. Darker towns draw more of Rockvale’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 Rockvale: questions
What is the median household income in Rockvale?
$86,404 (±$39,092) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockvale?
14.7%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockvale?
46 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockvale work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Murfreesboro (30%, 8 mi), Nashville (21%, 32 mi), Franklin (7%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rockvale walkable?
Rockvale is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockvale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockvale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockvale
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.