Work & commute · Columbia

Work & commute in Columbia, TN

About one in 4 of Columbia’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Franklin (11%), Spring Hill (6%) and Brentwood (3%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

4,382 of 19,143 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14,761 Columbia residents head out of town to work, 4,382 work right here, and 16,137 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbia.

14,761live here, work elsewhere

4,382live and work here

16,137work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbia goes to work

Columbia (in town)right here

23%4,382

Franklin22.7 mi away

11%2,155

Spring Hill11 mi away

6%1,098

Brentwood29.7 mi away

3%616

Murfreesboro38.3 mi away

3%513

Smyrna37.4 mi away

2%293

Mount Pleasant9 mi away

1%273

Lewisburg18.6 mi away

1%237

Chattanooga108.3 mi away

1%226

Memphis168.6 mi away

1%225

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%9,125

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

How far

How far Columbia commutes

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

31%

19%

36%

14%

31%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

36%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbia is balanced between jobs and homes

1.07jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.07 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbia are

20,519 jobs are based in Columbia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbia

20,519 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Columbia residents hold

19,143 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+18%

Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 17,408 → 20,519. 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.