Work & commute · McDowell

Work & commute in McDowell, KY

Most working residents leave McDowell for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Prestonsburg (15%), Pikeville (7%) and Lexington-Fayette urban county (4%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 135 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

— 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 131 McDowell residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 255 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in McDowell.

131live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

255work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where McDowell goes to work

Prestonsburg15.3 mi away

15%20

Pikeville11 mi away

7%10

Lexington-Fayette urban county102.7 mi away

4%6

Hazard29.3 mi away

4%5

McDowell (in town)right here

3%4

Hyden41.3 mi away

1%2

Owingsville73 mi away

1%2

Whitesburg24.2 mi away

1%2

Paintsville25.3 mi away

1%2

Ashland69.2 mi away

1%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

59%80

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

How far

How far McDowell commutes

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

14%

36%

16%

35%

14%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

McDowell is a job hub

1.92jobs 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 McDowell are

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

Jobs based in McDowell

259 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs McDowell residents hold

135 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+151%

Jobs based in McDowell, 2013 → 2023: 103 → 259. 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.