Work & commute · Ocracoke

Work & commute in Ocracoke, NC

About one in 5 of Ocracoke’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Engelhard (4%), Greenville (3%) and Raleigh (3%). Half commute less than 51 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

62 of 277 working residents

Typical commute

51 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 215 Ocracoke residents head out of town to work, 62 work right here, and 344 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ocracoke.

215live here, work elsewhere

62live and work here

344work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ocracoke goes to work

Ocracoke (in town)right here

22%62

Engelhard30.1 mi away

4%10

Greenville85.6 mi away

3%9

Raleigh157.7 mi away

3%7

Swan Quarter29.7 mi away

3%7

Manteo60.3 mi away

2%6

Kill Devil Hills67.8 mi away

2%6

Nags Head63.8 mi away

2%6

Kitty Hawk70.7 mi away

2%5

Rocky Mount119.1 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

56%155

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

How far

How far Ocracoke commutes

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

23%

21%

51%

23%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

51%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ocracoke is balanced between jobs and homes

1.47jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ocracoke are

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

Jobs based in Ocracoke

406 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month37%

Jobs Ocracoke residents hold

277 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month44%

+50%

Jobs based in Ocracoke, 2013 → 2023: 270 → 406. 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.