Work & commute · Collegedale

Work & commute in Collegedale, TN

Most working residents leave Collegedale for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Chattanooga (53%), Apison (5%) and Cleveland (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

158 of 4,118 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,960 Collegedale residents head out of town to work, 158 work right here, and 3,095 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Collegedale.

3,960live here, work elsewhere

158live and work here

3,095work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Collegedale goes to work

Chattanooga11.4 mi away

53%2,176

Apison4 mi away

5%201

Cleveland13.3 mi away

4%179

Collegedale (in town)right here

4%158

Knoxville88.5 mi away

2%90

East Ridge10.9 mi away

1%61

Dalton, GA20.2 mi away

1%52

Murfreesboro95 mi away

1%39

Brentwood116.7 mi away

1%34

Franklin117.6 mi away

1%28

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%1,100

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

How far

How far Collegedale commutes

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

41%

35%

22%

41%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Collegedale is balanced between jobs and homes

0.79jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Collegedale are

3,253 jobs are based in Collegedale. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Collegedale’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Collegedale

3,253 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Collegedale residents hold

4,118 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+36%

Jobs based in Collegedale, 2013 → 2023: 2,391 → 3,253. 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.