Work & commute · Nags Head

Work & commute in Nags Head, NC

About one in 4 of Nags Head’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Kill Devil Hills (11%), Manteo (8%) and Kitty Hawk (5%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27%

358 of 1,313 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 955 Nags Head residents head out of town to work, 358 work right here, and 2,840 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Nags Head.

955live here, work elsewhere

358live and work here

2,840work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Nags Head goes to work

Nags Head (in town)right here

27%358

Kill Devil Hills5.7 mi away

11%148

Manteo3.5 mi away

8%101

Kitty Hawk10.2 mi away

5%71

Raleigh169.1 mi away

3%42

Duck18.3 mi away

2%31

Norfolk, VA75.9 mi away

2%31

Wanchese7.2 mi away

2%30

Greenville101.1 mi away

2%27

Elizabeth City42 mi away

2%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%451

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

How far

How far Nags Head commutes

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

53%

31%

53%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Nags Head is a job hub

2.44jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Nags Head are

3,198 jobs are based in Nags Head. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Nags Head’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Nags Head

3,198 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Nags Head residents hold

1,313 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+10%

Jobs based in Nags Head, 2013 → 2023: 2,910 → 3,198. 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.