Work & commute · Emerald Isle

Work & commute in Emerald Isle, NC

About one in 5 of Emerald Isle’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Jacksonville (7%), Morehead City (7%) and New Bern (3%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

257 of 1,274 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,017 Emerald Isle residents head out of town to work, 257 work right here, and 1,229 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Emerald Isle.

1,017live here, work elsewhere

257live and work here

1,229work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Emerald Isle goes to work

Emerald Isle (in town)right here

20%257

Jacksonville21.1 mi away

7%89

Morehead City17.3 mi away

7%85

New Bern29.7 mi away

3%43

Raleigh121.5 mi away

3%42

Greenville67.3 mi away

3%38

Swansboro6.5 mi away

3%34

Cedar Point3.2 mi away

2%31

Cape Carteret2.6 mi away

2%29

Wilmington58 mi away

2%28

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%598

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

How far

How far Emerald Isle commutes

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

32%

20%

38%

32%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

38%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Emerald Isle is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Emerald Isle are

1,486 jobs are based in Emerald Isle. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Emerald Isle’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Emerald Isle

1,486 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Emerald Isle residents hold

1,274 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+43%

Jobs based in Emerald Isle, 2013 → 2023: 1,038 → 1,486. 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.