Work & commute · Jefferson

Work & commute in Jefferson, NC

Most working residents leave Jefferson for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are West Jefferson (16%), Boone (8%) and Asheville (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

95 of 585 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 490 Jefferson residents head out of town to work, 95 work right here, and 1,796 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Jefferson.

490live here, work elsewhere

95live and work here

1,796work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Jefferson goes to work

Jefferson (in town)right here

16%95

West Jefferson2.9 mi away

16%94

Boone18 mi away

8%44

Asheville84.4 mi away

4%23

Charlotte91 mi away

3%19

Wilkesboro25.1 mi away

2%10

Hickory48 mi away

2%9

Raleigh162.9 mi away

1%8

Lenoir35.6 mi away

1%7

Morganton48.7 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%270

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

How far

How far Jefferson commutes

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

49%

13%

30%

49%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Jefferson is a job hub

3.23jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Jefferson are

1,891 jobs are based in Jefferson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Jefferson

1,891 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Jefferson residents hold

585 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+0%

Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 1,889 → 1,891. 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.