Work & commute · Durham

Work & commute in Durham, NC

42% of Durham’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (13%), Chapel Hill (7%) and Cary (5%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

51,774 of 123,173 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 71,399 Durham residents head out of town to work, 51,774 work right here, and 143,024 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Durham.

71,399live here, work elsewhere

51,774live and work here

143,024work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Durham goes to work

Durham (in town)right here

42%51,774

Raleigh17.6 mi away

13%16,037

Chapel Hill8.7 mi away

7%8,543

Cary14.1 mi away

5%5,997

Charlotte120.9 mi away

3%3,630

Morrisville10.3 mi away

2%3,032

Greensboro52.3 mi away

2%1,876

Winston-Salem76.6 mi away

1%1,040

Apex17.5 mi away

1%933

Hillsborough13.1 mi away

1%834

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%29,477

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

How far

How far Durham commutes

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

56%

25%

15%

56%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Durham is a job hub

1.58jobs 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 Durham are

194,798 jobs are based in Durham. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Durham’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Durham

194,798 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Durham residents hold

123,173 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+31%

Jobs based in Durham, 2013 → 2023: 148,237 → 194,798. 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.