Most of Watauga commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
There are 38 jobs in Watauga; 144 of its residents have a job. The trip to work takes 19 minutes on average; Tennessee averages 26, the U.S. 26. Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers; Tennessee has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Watauga on a workday afternoon
On a workday 144 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 38 people come in from elsewhere.
About 260 people are in Watauga on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
33% of working residents work in Johnson City
Where Watauga clocks in
33% of workers
15% 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.
In Watauga, 63% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watauga, 2013 → 2023: 12 → 38. 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 Watauga’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 19 minutes from Watauga
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watauga workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 190 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.
The distance from Watauga to work
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.
Watauga and its neighbors: 33% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Watauga workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watauga | – | — | — | 19 min | $62,917 |
| Johnson City | 33% | C | B+ | 19 min | $57,254 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Johnson City. Darker towns draw more of Watauga’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 Watauga: questions
What is the median household income in Watauga?
$62,917 (±$40,026) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watauga?
10.9%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watauga?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watauga work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Johnson City (33%, 5 mi), Elizabethton (15%, 4 mi), Kingsport (7%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Watauga without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Watauga, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watauga
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.