Work & commute · Gastonia

Work & commute in Gastonia, NC

About one in 4 of Gastonia’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Charlotte (30%), Raleigh (2%) and Belmont (2%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

8,536 of 37,862 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 29,326 Gastonia residents head out of town to work, 8,536 work right here, and 35,666 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Gastonia.

29,326live here, work elsewhere

8,536live and work here

35,666work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Gastonia goes to work

Charlotte20.1 mi away

30%11,233

Gastonia (in town)right here

23%8,536

Raleigh148.5 mi away

2%752

Belmont8.3 mi away

2%618

Concord32.4 mi away

2%578

Mount Holly11 mi away

1%564

Kings Mountain9.5 mi away

1%518

Shelby20.6 mi away

1%455

Huntersville20.8 mi away

1%438

Hickory34.4 mi away

1%418

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%13,752

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

How far

How far Gastonia commutes

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

34%

39%

12%

15%

34%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Gastonia 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 Gastonia are

44,202 jobs are based in Gastonia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gastonia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Gastonia

44,202 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Gastonia residents hold

37,862 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+8%

Jobs based in Gastonia, 2013 → 2023: 40,869 → 44,202. 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.