Work & commute · Rocky Mount

Work & commute in Rocky Mount, NC

About one in 3 of Rocky Mount’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (7%), Wilson (6%) and Tarboro (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

33%

7,332 of 22,324 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 14,992 Rocky Mount residents head out of town to work, 7,332 work right here, and 20,101 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rocky Mount.

14,992live here, work elsewhere

7,332live and work here

20,101work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rocky Mount goes to work

Rocky Mount (in town)right here

33%7,332

Raleigh47.6 mi away

7%1,646

Wilson17.8 mi away

6%1,329

Tarboro14.7 mi away

4%799

Greenville35.4 mi away

3%675

Nashville8.3 mi away

3%571

Charlotte177.8 mi away

2%442

Durham60.9 mi away

2%399

Cary58.3 mi away

1%260

Greensboro112.9 mi away

1%190

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%8,681

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

How far

How far Rocky Mount commutes

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

43%

16%

19%

22%

43%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rocky Mount is balanced between jobs and homes

1.23jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Rocky Mount are

27,433 jobs are based in Rocky Mount. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rocky Mount’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rocky Mount

27,433 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Rocky Mount residents hold

22,324 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month47%

−11%

Jobs based in Rocky Mount, 2013 → 2023: 30,846 → 27,433. 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.