Work & commute · Hickory

Work & commute in Hickory, NC

About one in 3 of Hickory’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Charlotte (8%), Conover (5%) and Newton (5%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

33%

6,270 of 19,055 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 12,785 Hickory residents head out of town to work, 6,270 work right here, and 38,183 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Hickory.

12,785live here, work elsewhere

6,270live and work here

38,183work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Hickory goes to work

Hickory (in town)right here

33%6,270

Charlotte45.7 mi away

8%1,601

Conover6.2 mi away

5%1,014

Newton7.2 mi away

5%889

Claremont9.6 mi away

3%505

Long View3.6 mi away

2%404

Morganton21.2 mi away

2%362

Lenoir16.1 mi away

2%319

Raleigh150.5 mi away

2%301

Gastonia34.4 mi away

1%253

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%7,137

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

How far

How far Hickory commutes

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

53%

15%

16%

53%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Hickory is a job hub

2.33jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Hickory are

44,453 jobs are based in Hickory. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hickory’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Hickory

44,453 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Hickory residents hold

19,055 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+13%

Jobs based in Hickory, 2013 → 2023: 39,178 → 44,453. 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.