Work & commute · Northwest

Work & commute in Northwest, NC

Most working residents leave Northwest for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Wilmington (35%), Leland (4%) and Shallotte (2%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 340 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 336 Northwest residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 115 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Northwest.

336live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

115work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Northwest goes to work

Wilmington16.6 mi away

35%118

Leland9.1 mi away

4%15

Shallotte27 mi away

2%8

Raleigh108.4 mi away

2%8

Kings Grant16.6 mi away

2%6

Charlotte164.4 mi away

1%5

Riegelwood4.6 mi away

1%5

Northwest (in town)right here

1%4

Jacksonville51.4 mi away

1%4

Durham122.4 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%163

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

How far

How far Northwest commutes

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

14%

56%

10%

20%

14%Under 10 mi

56%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Northwest is a commuter town

0.35jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.35 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Northwest are

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

Jobs based in Northwest

119 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)46%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)26%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Northwest residents hold

340 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month44%

−38%

Jobs based in Northwest, 2013 → 2023: 191 → 119. 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.