Work & commute · Charleston

Work & commute in Charleston, AR

Most working residents leave Charleston for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Smith (34%), Van Buren (2%) and Russellville (2%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

197 of 1,045 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

35 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 848 Charleston residents head out of town to work, 197 work right here, and 446 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Charleston.

848live here, work elsewhere

197live and work here

446work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Charleston goes to work

Fort Smith18.6 mi away

34%360

Charleston (in town)right here

19%197

Van Buren20.3 mi away

2%25

Russellville51.4 mi away

2%22

Little Rock103.4 mi away

2%22

Paris17.7 mi away

2%19

Ozark18.2 mi away

2%18

Rogers71 mi away

1%13

Bentonville73.8 mi away

1%13

Clarksville33.8 mi away

1%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%345

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Charleston commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

23%

49%

25%

23%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Charleston is a commuter town

0.62jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Charleston are

643 jobs are based in Charleston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Charleston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Charleston

643 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month47%

Over $3,333 a month36%

Jobs Charleston residents hold

1,045 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+20%

Jobs based in Charleston, 2013 → 2023: 536 → 643. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.