Work & commute · Elizabethton

Work & commute in Elizabethton, TN

About one in 5 of Elizabethton’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Johnson City (28%), Kingsport (6%) and Bristol (3%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21%

1,156 of 5,595 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 4,439 Elizabethton residents head out of town to work, 1,156 work right here, and 7,858 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elizabethton.

4,439live here, work elsewhere

1,156live and work here

7,858work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elizabethton goes to work

Johnson City8 mi away

28%1,569

Elizabethton (in town)right here

21%1,156

Kingsport21 mi away

6%340

Bristol15.2 mi away

3%191

Knoxville98.8 mi away

2%133

Oak Grove12.4 mi away

2%98

Greeneville34.5 mi away

2%96

Morristown59.9 mi away

1%75

Erwin16.5 mi away

1%74

Chattanooga190.5 mi away

1%58

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%1,805

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

How far

How far Elizabethton commutes

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

52%

23%

20%

52%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elizabethton is a job hub

1.61jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Elizabethton are

9,014 jobs are based in Elizabethton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elizabethton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elizabethton

9,014 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Elizabethton residents hold

5,595 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+11%

Jobs based in Elizabethton, 2013 → 2023: 8,108 → 9,014. 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.