Work & commute · Columbia

Work & commute in Columbia, KY

About one in 3 of Columbia’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Russell Springs (5%), Campbellsville (5%) and Lexington-Fayette urban county (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

460 of 1,567 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,107 Columbia residents head out of town to work, 460 work right here, and 2,579 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbia.

1,107live here, work elsewhere

460live and work here

2,579work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbia goes to work

Columbia (in town)right here

29%460

Russell Springs13 mi away

5%77

Campbellsville16.8 mi away

5%77

Lexington-Fayette urban county79.7 mi away

4%60

Somerset38.7 mi away

2%38

Glasgow34.8 mi away

2%32

Lebanon32.4 mi away

2%31

Greensburg14.9 mi away

2%27

Bardstown50 mi away

1%23

Burkesville22 mi away

1%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%720

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

How far

How far Columbia commutes

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

39%

22%

12%

27%

39%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbia is a job hub

1.94jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbia are

3,039 jobs are based in Columbia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbia

3,039 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Columbia residents hold

1,567 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month44%

−7%

Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 3,257 → 3,039. 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.