Work & commute · Roanoke Rapids

Work & commute in Roanoke Rapids, NC

About one in 4 of Roanoke Rapids’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Rocky Mount (4%), Greenville (4%) and Raleigh (3%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27%

1,633 of 6,074 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 4,441 Roanoke Rapids residents head out of town to work, 1,633 work right here, and 4,693 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Roanoke Rapids.

4,441live here, work elsewhere

1,633live and work here

4,693work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Roanoke Rapids goes to work

Roanoke Rapids (in town)right here

27%1,633

Rocky Mount34.2 mi away

4%236

Greenville60.6 mi away

4%213

Raleigh69.8 mi away

3%209

Emporia, VA18.4 mi away

3%152

Gaston3.4 mi away

2%119

Weldon2.5 mi away

2%103

Charlotte197.7 mi away

1%72

Wilson51.8 mi away

1%68

South Rosemary3.6 mi away

1%64

Everywhere elseother towns and states

53%3,205

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

How far

How far Roanoke Rapids commutes

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

46%

11%

32%

46%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Roanoke Rapids is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Roanoke Rapids are

6,326 jobs are based in Roanoke Rapids. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Roanoke Rapids’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Roanoke Rapids

6,326 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month40%

Jobs Roanoke Rapids residents hold

6,074 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month47%

−17%

Jobs based in Roanoke Rapids, 2013 → 2023: 7,653 → 6,326. 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.