Work & commute · Lenoir

Work & commute in Lenoir, NC

About one in 4 of Lenoir’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Hickory (11%), Hudson (6%) and Charlotte (5%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

1,782 of 7,168 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,386 Lenoir residents head out of town to work, 1,782 work right here, and 10,060 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lenoir.

5,386live here, work elsewhere

1,782live and work here

10,060work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lenoir goes to work

Lenoir (in town)right here

25%1,782

Hickory16.1 mi away

11%788

Hudson4.5 mi away

6%408

Charlotte61.8 mi away

5%340

Morganton15.3 mi away

4%287

Granite Falls9.3 mi away

2%175

Boone22.7 mi away

2%130

Conover21.6 mi away

2%124

Raleigh161.2 mi away

2%123

Asheville62.4 mi away

1%85

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%2,926

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

How far

How far Lenoir commutes

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

39%

28%

11%

22%

39%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lenoir is a job hub

1.65jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Lenoir are

11,842 jobs are based in Lenoir. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lenoir’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lenoir

11,842 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Lenoir residents hold

7,168 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month46%

−8%

Jobs based in Lenoir, 2013 → 2023: 12,821 → 11,842. 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.