Work & commute · Covington

Work & commute in Covington, KY

Most working residents leave Covington for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Cincinnati (15%), Florence (8%) and Newport (3%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

2,457 of 19,162 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 16,705 Covington residents head out of town to work, 2,457 work right here, and 15,946 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Covington.

16,705live here, work elsewhere

2,457live and work here

15,946work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Covington goes to work

Cincinnati, OH7.3 mi away

15%2,865

Covington (in town)right here

13%2,457

Florence7.5 mi away

8%1,495

Newport3.9 mi away

3%558

Erlanger4.3 mi away

3%504

Lexington-Fayette urban county68.8 mi away

2%422

Fort Wright1.1 mi away

2%409

Hebron10.3 mi away

2%371

Edgewood2.8 mi away

2%346

Independence5.6 mi away

1%271

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%9,464

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

How far

How far Covington commutes

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

64%

19%

15%

64%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Covington is balanced between jobs and homes

0.96jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Covington are

18,403 jobs are based in Covington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Covington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Covington

18,403 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs Covington residents hold

19,162 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+2%

Jobs based in Covington, 2013 → 2023: 17,999 → 18,403. 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.