Work & commute · Oak Ridge

Work & commute in Oak Ridge, TN

About one in 3 of Oak Ridge’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Knoxville (22%), Clinton (4%) and Farragut (2%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35%

4,977 of 14,231 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

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,254 Oak Ridge residents head out of town to work, 4,977 work right here, and 35,885 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oak Ridge.

9,254live here, work elsewhere

4,977live and work here

35,885work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oak Ridge goes to work

Oak Ridge (in town)right here

35%4,977

Knoxville19.1 mi away

22%3,089

Clinton12.9 mi away

4%515

Farragut8.8 mi away

2%244

Chattanooga82.3 mi away

1%210

Alcoa20.9 mi away

1%174

Maryville23 mi away

1%167

Memphis324.6 mi away

1%149

Lenoir City10.4 mi away

1%115

Sevierville40.1 mi away

1%92

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%4,499

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

How far

How far Oak Ridge commutes

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

43%

38%

14%

43%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oak Ridge is a job hub

2.87jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Oak Ridge are

40,862 jobs are based in Oak Ridge. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oak Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Oak Ridge

40,862 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month78%

Jobs Oak Ridge residents hold

14,231 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+28%

Jobs based in Oak Ridge, 2013 → 2023: 32,033 → 40,862. 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.