Work & commute · Morganton

Work & commute in Morganton, NC

About one in 3 of Morganton’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Hickory (7%), Charlotte (5%) and Lenoir (3%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

36%

2,198 of 6,143 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 3,945 Morganton residents head out of town to work, 2,198 work right here, and 15,190 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Morganton.

3,945live here, work elsewhere

2,198live and work here

15,190work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Morganton goes to work

Morganton (in town)right here

36%2,198

Hickory21.2 mi away

7%415

Charlotte61.2 mi away

5%319

Lenoir15.3 mi away

3%172

Marion17.4 mi away

2%119

Valdese7.2 mi away

2%113

Conover27.3 mi away

2%105

Raleigh171.6 mi away

2%95

Asheville49.3 mi away

1%70

Winston-Salem84.3 mi away

1%70

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%2,467

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

How far

How far Morganton commutes

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

43%

20%

14%

23%

43%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Morganton is a job hub

2.83jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Morganton are

17,388 jobs are based in Morganton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Morganton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Morganton

17,388 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Morganton residents hold

6,143 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+21%

Jobs based in Morganton, 2013 → 2023: 14,338 → 17,388. 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.