Work & commute · Asheville

Work & commute in Asheville, NC

52% of Asheville’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Charlotte (5%), Hendersonville (2%) and Woodfin (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

52%

20,226 of 39,051 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 18,825 Asheville residents head out of town to work, 20,226 work right here, and 68,243 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Asheville.

18,825live here, work elsewhere

20,226live and work here

68,243work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Asheville goes to work

Asheville (in town)right here

52%20,226

Charlotte100.2 mi away

5%1,856

Hendersonville17.9 mi away

2%640

Woodfin5.6 mi away

2%623

Fletcher9.9 mi away

1%535

Mills River13.3 mi away

1%499

Raleigh220.2 mi away

1%487

Black Mountain13.1 mi away

1%455

Weaverville8.6 mi away

1%408

Biltmore Forest2.6 mi away

1%406

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%12,916

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

How far

How far Asheville commutes

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

66%

11%

20%

66%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Asheville is a job hub

2.27jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Asheville are

88,469 jobs are based in Asheville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Asheville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Asheville

88,469 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Asheville residents hold

39,051 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+18%

Jobs based in Asheville, 2013 → 2023: 75,153 → 88,469. 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.