Work & commute · Prestonsburg

Work & commute in Prestonsburg, KY

About one in 3 of Prestonsburg’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Pikeville (8%), Paintsville (5%) and Hazard (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35%

481 of 1,363 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 882 Prestonsburg residents head out of town to work, 481 work right here, and 5,442 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Prestonsburg.

882live here, work elsewhere

481live and work here

5,442work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Prestonsburg goes to work

Prestonsburg (in town)right here

35%481

Pikeville19.2 mi away

8%108

Paintsville9.9 mi away

5%66

Hazard37.4 mi away

3%38

Lexington-Fayette urban county95.5 mi away

3%35

Salyersville16.8 mi away

2%28

Coal Run Village15.4 mi away

1%13

Louisa31 mi away

1%11

Frankfort119.8 mi away

1%11

Hindman26.6 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%563

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

How far

How far Prestonsburg commutes

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

45%

25%

11%

19%

45%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Prestonsburg is a job hub

4.35jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Prestonsburg are

5,923 jobs are based in Prestonsburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Prestonsburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Prestonsburg

5,923 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Prestonsburg residents hold

1,363 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−4%

Jobs based in Prestonsburg, 2013 → 2023: 6,172 → 5,923. 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.