Work & commute · Charlotte

Work & commute in Charlotte, NC

64% of Charlotte’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (2%), Concord (2%) and Huntersville (2%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

64%

261,012 of 406,649 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

29%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 145,637 Charlotte residents head out of town to work, 261,012 work right here, and 406,188 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Charlotte.

145,637live here, work elsewhere

261,012live and work here

406,188work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Charlotte goes to work

Charlotte (in town)right here

64%261,012

Raleigh130.5 mi away

2%9,341

Concord16.8 mi away

2%9,194

Huntersville13.8 mi away

2%6,749

Matthews9.2 mi away

1%5,769

Pineville8.6 mi away

1%4,776

Greensboro83.3 mi away

1%4,344

Gastonia20.1 mi away

1%4,243

Winston-Salem69.6 mi away

1%3,991

Durham120.9 mi away

1%3,545

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%93,685

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

How far

How far Charlotte commutes

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

55%

27%

15%

55%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Charlotte is a job hub

1.64jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Charlotte are

667,200 jobs are based in Charlotte. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Charlotte’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Charlotte

667,200 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs Charlotte residents hold

406,649 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+33%

Jobs based in Charlotte, 2013 → 2023: 501,026 → 667,200. 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.