Work & commute · Columbia

Work & commute in Columbia, NC

Most working residents leave Columbia for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Nags Head (6%), Manteo (5%) and Wanchese (4%). Half commute less than 32 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

23 of 207 working residents

Typical commute

32 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

34 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 184 Columbia residents head out of town to work, 23 work right here, and 319 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbia.

184live here, work elsewhere

23live and work here

319work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbia goes to work

Columbia (in town)right here

11%23

Nags Head34.6 mi away

6%12

Manteo33 mi away

5%11

Wanchese34 mi away

4%8

Greenville67.5 mi away

3%7

Edenton22.1 mi away

3%6

Elizabeth City25.6 mi away

3%6

Raleigh134.5 mi away

3%6

Ahoskie48.7 mi away

2%5

Chesapeake, VA52.3 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%118

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

How far

How far Columbia commutes

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

24%

11%

33%

24%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

33%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbia is a job hub

1.65jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbia are

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

Jobs based in Columbia

342 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month33%

Jobs Columbia residents hold

207 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−23%

Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 442 → 342. 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.