Work & commute · Old Fort

Work & commute in Old Fort, NC

Most working residents leave Old Fort for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Asheville (13%), Marion (11%) and Black Mountain (6%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23 of 378 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 355 Old Fort residents head out of town to work, 23 work right here, and 770 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Old Fort.

355live here, work elsewhere

23live and work here

770work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Old Fort goes to work

Asheville21.4 mi away

13%48

Marion10.4 mi away

11%43

Black Mountain8.4 mi away

6%24

Charlotte81.2 mi away

6%24

Old Fort (in town)right here

6%23

Morganton27.9 mi away

4%17

Hendersonville26.3 mi away

1%4

Shelby42.6 mi away

1%4

Hickory48.5 mi away

1%4

Gastonia61.8 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%183

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

How far

How far Old Fort commutes

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

22%

39%

14%

26%

22%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Old Fort is a job hub

2.10jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Old Fort are

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

Jobs based in Old Fort

793 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)70%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)23%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Old Fort residents hold

378 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−44%

Jobs based in Old Fort, 2013 → 2023: 1,407 → 793. 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.