Work & commute · Harrisburg

Work & commute in Harrisburg, NC

Most working residents leave Harrisburg for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Charlotte (51%), Concord (10%) and Raleigh (2%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

457 of 9,638 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

26%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,181 Harrisburg residents head out of town to work, 457 work right here, and 6,108 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Harrisburg.

9,181live here, work elsewhere

457live and work here

6,108work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Harrisburg goes to work

Charlotte12.5 mi away

51%4,877

Concord5.9 mi away

10%973

Harrisburg (in town)right here

5%457

Raleigh118.3 mi away

2%191

Kannapolis11.9 mi away

2%162

Huntersville14.3 mi away

2%153

Greensboro71.3 mi away

2%150

Winston-Salem59 mi away

1%136

Mooresville21.7 mi away

1%104

Salisbury26.2 mi away

1%98

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%2,337

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

How far

How far Harrisburg commutes

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

31%

49%

16%

31%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Harrisburg is a commuter town

0.68jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.68 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Harrisburg are

6,565 jobs are based in Harrisburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harrisburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Harrisburg

6,565 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Harrisburg residents hold

9,638 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+80%

Jobs based in Harrisburg, 2013 → 2023: 3,648 → 6,565. 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.