Work & commute · Portland

Work & commute in Portland, TN

Most working residents leave Portland for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Gallatin (14%), Hendersonville (5%) and Goodlettsville (3%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

1,126 of 6,196 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,070 Portland residents head out of town to work, 1,126 work right here, and 6,296 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Portland.

5,070live here, work elsewhere

1,126live and work here

6,296work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Portland goes to work

Portland (in town)right here

18%1,126

Gallatin15.3 mi away

14%856

Hendersonville20.5 mi away

5%312

Goodlettsville20.8 mi away

3%176

Franklin, KY8.5 mi away

2%148

White House12.1 mi away

2%140

Franklin50.6 mi away

2%126

Springfield20.5 mi away

2%125

Orlinda9.7 mi away

2%108

Brentwood43.9 mi away

2%107

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%2,972

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

How far

How far Portland commutes

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

23%

31%

33%

12%

23%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

33%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Portland is balanced between jobs and homes

1.20jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Portland are

7,422 jobs are based in Portland. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Portland’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Portland

7,422 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)46%

Trade, transport & utilities35%

Services (health, schools, offices…)19%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Portland residents hold

6,196 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+22%

Jobs based in Portland, 2013 → 2023: 6,103 → 7,422. 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.