Work & commute · James

Work & commute in James, NC

Most working residents leave James for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are New Bern (33%), Havelock (5%) and Raleigh (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

197 of 2,077 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,880 James residents head out of town to work, 197 work right here, and 2,355 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in James.

1,880live here, work elsewhere

197live and work here

2,355work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where James goes to work

New Bern5.3 mi away

33%688

James City (in town)right here

9%197

Havelock11 mi away

5%96

Raleigh107.3 mi away

4%81

Greenville43.6 mi away

3%65

Morehead City26.5 mi away

3%58

Jacksonville31.3 mi away

2%46

Kinston37.2 mi away

2%34

Wilmington76.7 mi away

1%30

Goldsboro59.6 mi away

1%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%759

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

How far

How far James commutes

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

48%

12%

15%

25%

48%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

James is balanced between jobs and homes

1.23jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in James are

2,552 jobs are based in James. Here is what they are, next to the jobs James’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in James

2,552 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs James residents hold

2,077 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+1%

Jobs based in James, 2013 → 2023: 2,533 → 2,552. 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.