Work & commute · Benton

Work & commute in Benton, KY

Most working residents leave Benton for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Paducah (14%), Murray (7%) and Calvert City (7%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

303 of 1,905 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,602 Benton residents head out of town to work, 303 work right here, and 2,622 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Benton.

1,602live here, work elsewhere

303live and work here

2,622work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Benton goes to work

Benton (in town)right here

16%303

Paducah21.9 mi away

14%259

Murray16.3 mi away

7%139

Calvert City13.8 mi away

7%129

Mayfield17.4 mi away

4%75

Lexington-Fayette urban county229.4 mi away

2%31

Bowling Green106.9 mi away

1%15

Eddyville22.4 mi away

1%14

Farley17.7 mi away

1%12

Princeton31.8 mi away

1%10

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%918

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

How far

How far Benton commutes

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

31%

47%

17%

31%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Benton is a job hub

1.54jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Benton are

2,925 jobs are based in Benton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Benton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Benton

2,925 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Benton residents hold

1,905 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+19%

Jobs based in Benton, 2013 → 2023: 2,462 → 2,925. 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.