Work & commute · Burlington

Work & commute in Burlington, NC

About one in 4 of Burlington’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Greensboro (10%), Durham (8%) and Raleigh (5%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

6,520 of 24,997 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 18,477 Burlington residents head out of town to work, 6,520 work right here, and 29,031 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Burlington.

18,477live here, work elsewhere

6,520live and work here

29,031work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Burlington goes to work

Burlington (in town)right here

26%6,520

Greensboro19.9 mi away

10%2,426

Durham32.6 mi away

8%1,977

Raleigh49.3 mi away

5%1,273

Graham4.6 mi away

5%1,212

Mebane10.7 mi away

5%1,156

Chapel Hill26 mi away

3%857

Charlotte97.2 mi away

3%793

Elon2.9 mi away

3%672

Winston-Salem44.3 mi away

2%476

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%7,635

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

How far

How far Burlington commutes

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

43%

16%

25%

17%

43%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

25%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Burlington is balanced between jobs and homes

1.42jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.42 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Burlington are

35,551 jobs are based in Burlington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Burlington

35,551 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Burlington residents hold

24,997 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+9%

Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 32,748 → 35,551. 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.