Work & commute · Middlesex

Work & commute in Middlesex, NC

Most working residents leave Middlesex for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (12%), Wilson (9%) and Zebulon (6%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12 of 282 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 270 Middlesex residents head out of town to work, 12 work right here, and 423 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Middlesex.

270live here, work elsewhere

12live and work here

423work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Middlesex goes to work

Raleigh24.6 mi away

12%33

Wilson15.9 mi away

9%25

Zebulon6.7 mi away

6%18

Middlesex (in town)right here

4%12

Rocky Mount25.4 mi away

4%12

Greenville48.4 mi away

3%8

Charlotte153.1 mi away

3%8

Durham40.9 mi away

3%8

Smithfield20.1 mi away

2%7

Cary34.7 mi away

2%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%144

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

How far

How far Middlesex commutes

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

14%

43%

23%

19%

14%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Middlesex is a job hub

1.54jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Middlesex are

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

Jobs based in Middlesex

435 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)52%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)20%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Middlesex residents hold

282 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+19%

Jobs based in Middlesex, 2013 → 2023: 365 → 435. 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.