Work & commute · Gaston

Work & commute in Gaston, NC

Most working residents leave Gaston for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Roanoke Rapids (21%), Raleigh (5%) and Greenville (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11 of 317 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 306 Gaston residents head out of town to work, 11 work right here, and 574 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Gaston.

306live here, work elsewhere

11live and work here

574work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Gaston goes to work

Roanoke Rapids3.4 mi away

21%65

Raleigh72 mi away

5%15

Greenville63.9 mi away

4%14

Emporia, VA15.2 mi away

4%13

Gaston (in town)right here

3%11

Rocky Mount37.5 mi away

3%9

Charlotte199.2 mi away

3%9

Weldon5.3 mi away

2%6

Garner77.6 mi away

1%4

Wilson55.1 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

53%167

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

How far

How far Gaston commutes

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

39%

14%

11%

36%

39%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

36%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Gaston is a job hub

1.85jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Gaston are

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

Jobs based in Gaston

585 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month44%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Gaston residents hold

317 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+60%

Jobs based in Gaston, 2013 → 2023: 365 → 585. 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.