Work & commute · Boone

Work & commute in Boone, NC

About one in 3 of Boone’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Charlotte (5%), Blowing Rock (4%) and Asheville (3%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

37%

1,921 of 5,170 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,249 Boone residents head out of town to work, 1,921 work right here, and 12,328 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Boone.

3,249live here, work elsewhere

1,921live and work here

12,328work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Boone goes to work

Boone (in town)right here

37%1,921

Charlotte83.7 mi away

5%239

Blowing Rock5.8 mi away

4%197

Asheville66.6 mi away

3%152

Raleigh171 mi away

2%108

Winston-Salem78.7 mi away

2%85

Greensboro103.1 mi away

1%65

Hickory38.2 mi away

1%63

Banner Elk11.9 mi away

1%44

Lenoir22.7 mi away

1%41

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%2,255

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

How far

How far Boone commutes

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

55%

33%

55%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Boone is a job hub

2.76jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Boone are

14,249 jobs are based in Boone. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Boone’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Boone

14,249 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Boone residents hold

5,170 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month47%

+11%

Jobs based in Boone, 2013 → 2023: 12,884 → 14,249. 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.