Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0Tazewell has lower household incomes than 95% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 2% of workers; Tennessee has 13%. The poverty rate is 33.1%, against 13.8% across Tennessee. Tazewell grades D− for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Tazewell, in a few figures
Tazewell has far more jobs than workers
Tazewell has 2,939 jobs, 3.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,400 people are in town, 84% more than the 2,400 who live here. Day and night ↓
Tazewell has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Tazewell went from 1,954 in 2013 to 2,939 in 2023, +50%. The jobs ↓
Few Tazewell workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 13% across Tennessee. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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 951 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Tazewell’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tazewell is better than 4% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Tazewell’s grade up (ahead of 22% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tazewell could be anywhere from D− to C−.
The daily flow of workers through Tazewell
On a workday 785 residents head out to work, 166 work right here, and 2,773 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Tazewell on a workday afternoon, 84% more than live here.
3.1 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.
Tazewell makes things: 32% of its jobs are in goods
2,939 jobs are based in Tazewell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tazewell, 2013 → 2023: 1,954 → 2,939. 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 Tazewell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Tazewell: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tazewell workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 906 commuters (the 2% 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.
Commuting in to Tazewell: where workers come from
Where Tazewell clocks in
11% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
Where in the region Tazewell works
About 21% 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.
In Tazewell, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tazewell is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below 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 920 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). 2.6% of Tazewell households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Tazewell’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Tazewell compares with U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Lookout Mountain TN | 2,044 | $201K | 2.3% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 197 | Walden TN | 1,965 | $124K | 3.1% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,685 | Morgantown KY | 2,512 | $38K | 37.3% | 12.9% | 29% | D− |
| 4,686 | Gladwin MI | 3,140 | $43K | 17.4% | 9.5% | 25% | D− |
| 4,687 | Tazewell TN | 2,363 | $42K | 33.1% | 6.9% | 17% | D− |
| 4,688 | Seymour TX | 2,574 | $40K | 28.2% | 5.2% | 34% | D− |
| 4,689 | Adams WI | 1,803 | $43K | 25.7% | 5.6% | 14% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Tazewell, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
The towns next door employ 11% of Tazewell
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tazewell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tazewell | – | D− | C | 26 min | $41,836 |
| New Tazewell | 11% | C | C− | 17 min | $53,567 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New Tazewell. Darker towns draw more of Tazewell’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 Tazewell: questions
What is the median household income in Tazewell?
$41,836 (±$10,528) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tazewell?
33.1%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tazewell?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tazewell work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Tazewell (11%, 3 mi), Knoxville (9%, 40 mi), Harrogate (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tazewell walkable?
Tazewell is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tazewell without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tazewell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tazewell
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.