Work & commute · Whitesburg

Work & commute in Whitesburg, KY

About one in 3 of Whitesburg’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Hazard (8%), Lexington-Fayette urban county (4%) and Pikeville (3%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

177 of 553 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 376 Whitesburg residents head out of town to work, 177 work right here, and 2,617 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Whitesburg.

376live here, work elsewhere

177live and work here

2,617work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Whitesburg goes to work

Whitesburg (in town)right here

32%177

Hazard22.9 mi away

8%42

Lexington-Fayette urban county109.9 mi away

4%20

Pikeville29.6 mi away

3%18

Prestonsburg38.9 mi away

3%15

Morehead81.6 mi away

1%6

Winchester96.7 mi away

1%6

Jackson43.3 mi away

1%5

Pound, VA11.9 mi away

1%5

Mayking3 mi away

1%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%254

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

How far

How far Whitesburg commutes

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

39%

16%

17%

28%

39%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Whitesburg is a job hub

5.05jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Whitesburg are

2,794 jobs are based in Whitesburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Whitesburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Whitesburg

2,794 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Whitesburg residents hold

553 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−15%

Jobs based in Whitesburg, 2013 → 2023: 3,301 → 2,794. 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.