Work & commute · Athens

Work & commute in Athens, TN

About one in 3 of Athens’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Chattanooga (8%), Cleveland (7%) and Sweetwater (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

33%

1,880 of 5,645 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 3,765 Athens residents head out of town to work, 1,880 work right here, and 10,255 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Athens.

3,765live here, work elsewhere

1,880live and work here

10,255work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Athens goes to work

Athens (in town)right here

33%1,880

Chattanooga45.3 mi away

8%474

Cleveland24.3 mi away

7%372

Sweetwater12.5 mi away

3%190

Knoxville51.1 mi away

3%155

Vonore22.9 mi away

2%119

Etowah9.3 mi away

1%81

Decatur11.7 mi away

1%81

Madisonville14.3 mi away

1%80

Loudon23.7 mi away

1%68

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%2,145

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

How far

How far Athens commutes

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

43%

20%

18%

19%

43%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Athens is a job hub

2.15jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Athens are

12,135 jobs are based in Athens. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Athens’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Athens

12,135 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Athens residents hold

5,645 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+5%

Jobs based in Athens, 2013 → 2023: 11,606 → 12,135. 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.