Work & commute · Kingsport

Work & commute in Kingsport, TN

42% of Kingsport’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Johnson City (14%), Bristol (4%) and Knoxville (2%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

9,218 of 22,177 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 12,959 Kingsport residents head out of town to work, 9,218 work right here, and 31,301 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kingsport.

12,959live here, work elsewhere

9,218live and work here

31,301work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kingsport goes to work

Kingsport (in town)right here

42%9,218

Johnson City15.2 mi away

14%3,074

Bristol18.3 mi away

4%779

Knoxville87 mi away

2%502

Morristown47.4 mi away

2%440

Blountville11.9 mi away

2%423

Greeneville28.7 mi away

1%303

Elizabethton21 mi away

1%288

Rogersville26.7 mi away

1%213

Chattanooga181.8 mi away

1%212

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%6,725

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

How far

How far Kingsport commutes

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

51%

27%

17%

51%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kingsport is a job hub

1.83jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Kingsport are

40,519 jobs are based in Kingsport. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kingsport’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kingsport

40,519 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Kingsport residents hold

22,177 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+7%

Jobs based in Kingsport, 2013 → 2023: 37,806 → 40,519. 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.