Work & commute · West Memphis

Work & commute in West Memphis, AR

About one in 3 of West Memphis’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Memphis (28%), Marion (10%) and Jonesboro (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

30%

2,856 of 9,529 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 6,673 West Memphis residents head out of town to work, 2,856 work right here, and 6,735 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Memphis.

6,673live here, work elsewhere

2,856live and work here

6,735work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Memphis goes to work

West Memphis (in town)right here

30%2,856

Memphis, TN13.3 mi away

28%2,640

Marion3.8 mi away

10%983

Jonesboro53.6 mi away

3%242

Little Rock125.8 mi away

2%234

Olive Branch, MS24.3 mi away

1%141

Forrest City34.9 mi away

1%117

Paragould64.8 mi away

1%116

Southaven, MS18.6 mi away

1%112

Collierville, TN29.2 mi away

1%81

Everywhere elseother towns and states

21%2,007

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

How far

How far West Memphis commutes

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

43%

33%

19%

43%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Memphis is balanced between jobs and homes

1.01jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.01 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Memphis are

9,591 jobs are based in West Memphis. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Memphis’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Memphis

9,591 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs West Memphis residents hold

9,529 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month43%

−19%

Jobs based in West Memphis, 2013 → 2023: 11,772 → 9,591. 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.