Work & commute · Cherokee

Work & commute in Cherokee, NC

About one in 3 of Cherokee’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Bryson City (3%), Asheville (2%) and Sylva (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

37%

225 of 602 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

11 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 377 Cherokee residents head out of town to work, 225 work right here, and 3,608 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Cherokee.

377live here, work elsewhere

225live and work here

3,608work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Cherokee goes to work

Cherokee (in town)right here

37%225

Bryson City9.2 mi away

3%16

Asheville42.5 mi away

2%15

Sylva9 mi away

2%12

Franklin21.6 mi away

1%8

Charlotte140.5 mi away

1%6

Raleigh262.7 mi away

1%6

Lake Junaluska18.7 mi away

1%5

Winston-Salem175.6 mi away

1%4

Cullowhee13.9 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%301

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

How far

How far Cherokee commutes

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

74%

13%

74%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Cherokee is a job hub

6.37jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Cherokee are

3,833 jobs are based in Cherokee. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cherokee’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Cherokee

3,833 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)92%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Cherokee residents hold

602 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+95%

Jobs based in Cherokee, 2013 → 2023: 1,966 → 3,833. 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.