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Lincoln County Poor House FarmLincoln County Poor House Farm · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Taft

Taft has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each

0% of workers have no commute at all; Tennessee has 13%. Employers in Taft report 27 jobs, against 105 working residents. Hardly any stay in Taft for work; outside it, Huntsville is the main destination (22%, 23 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily commute in and out of Taft

On a workday 104 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 26 people come in from elsewhere.

104live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
26work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night250
Workday170
250live here− 100head out to work+ 26come in to work= 170on a workday

About 170 people are in Taft on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.26jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Where people from Taft work

Madison: 2 residents work here (2%)Huntsville: 23 residents work here (22%)DecaturElkton: 2 residents work here (2%)ArdmorePulaskiFayetteville: 16 residents work here (15%)Lewisburg: 2 residents work here (2%)La Vergne: 2 residents work here (2%)KnoxvilleClarksville: 3 residents work here (3%)Murfreesboro: 4 residents work here (4%)Chattanooga: 4 residents work here (4%)Jefferson TownshipNashville: 7 residents work here (7%)MeridianvilleTaftPark CityBlancheHuntsvilleFayettevilleNashvilleMurfreesboroChattanoogaClarksvilleTaft
1
Huntsville, AL22.8 mi away
22%23
2
Fayetteville12.3 mi away
15%16
3
Nashville79.1 mi away
7%7
4
Murfreesboro59.6 mi away
4%4
5
Chattanooga83.2 mi away
4%4
6
Clarksville112.1 mi away
3%3
7
Madison, AL22 mi away
2%2
8
Elkton10.4 mi away
2%2
9
Lewisburg29.7 mi away
2%2
10
La Vergne69.4 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
38%40
The top trips

Where Taft clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

Factories, building and farms: 56% of the jobs in Taft

Jobs based in TaftJobs Taft residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms56%21%
Trade, transport & utilities26%18%
Services: health, schools, offices19%61%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less19%10%
$1,251–$3,333 a month33%28%
Over $3,333 a month48%62%

Who does it

29 or younger41%22%
30 to 5437%48%
55 and older22%30%
+50%

Jobs based in Taft, 2013 → 2023: 18 → 27. 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 Taft’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Working from home in Taft

Working from home
0%

of Taft workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Taft gets to work
80%Drive alone
20%Carpool

Share of the 56 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.

How far

Half of Taft commutes less than 23 miles

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miHuntsville: 22% · 22.8 miFayetteville: 15% · 12.3 miNashville: 7% · 79.1 miMurfreesboro: 4% · 59.6 miChattanooga: 4% · 83.2 miClarksville: 3% · 112.1 miMadison: 2% · 22 miElkton: 2% · 10.4 miLewisburg: 2% · 29.7 miLa Vergne: 2% · 69.4 miHuntsville 22%Fayetteville 15%Nashville 7%Murfreesboro 4%Chattanooga 4%Taft
TaftTop destinations (size = commuters)
6%Under 10 mi6 residents
55%10–24 mi56 residents
5%25–50 mi5 residents
34%Over 50 mi35 residents

About 34% 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.

Next door

The towns around Taft

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Jobs & commute next door

TownTaft workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Taft–————
Blancheunder 2%————

Same-state neighbors only. Blanche: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Taft’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Taft: questions

What is the poverty rate in Taft?

47.8%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

Where do people who live in Taft work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Huntsville (22%, 23 mi), Fayetteville (15%, 12 mi), Nashville (7%, 79 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Taft without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Taft, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Taft

Taft home →

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.