Work & commute · Chattanooga

Work & commute in Chattanooga, TN

67% of Chattanooga’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Knoxville (2%), East Ridge (2%) and Cleveland (2%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

67%

49,568 of 73,907 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 24,339 Chattanooga residents head out of town to work, 49,568 work right here, and 127,102 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chattanooga.

24,339live here, work elsewhere

49,568live and work here

127,102work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chattanooga goes to work

Chattanooga (in town)right here

67%49,568

Knoxville96.1 mi away

2%1,720

East Ridge4.9 mi away

2%1,207

Cleveland22.7 mi away

2%1,154

Apison14.1 mi away

1%700

Memphis266.9 mi away

1%686

Red Bank4.2 mi away

1%520

Collegedale11.4 mi away

1%516

Dalton, GA25.8 mi away

1%514

Franklin107.6 mi away

1%435

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%16,887

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

How far

How far Chattanooga commutes

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

69%

19%

69%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chattanooga is a job hub

2.39jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Chattanooga are

176,670 jobs are based in Chattanooga. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chattanooga’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Chattanooga

176,670 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Chattanooga residents hold

73,907 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+10%

Jobs based in Chattanooga, 2013 → 2023: 160,680 → 176,670. 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.