Work & commute · Rutherfordton

Work & commute in Rutherfordton, NC

Most working residents leave Rutherfordton for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Forest City (9%), Charlotte (7%) and Spindale (4%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

171 of 1,654 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,483 Rutherfordton residents head out of town to work, 171 work right here, and 2,629 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rutherfordton.

1,483live here, work elsewhere

171live and work here

2,629work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rutherfordton goes to work

Rutherfordton (in town)right here

10%171

Forest City5.5 mi away

9%153

Charlotte64.6 mi away

7%120

Spindale2.2 mi away

4%69

Asheville36.2 mi away

4%67

Shelby24 mi away

2%31

Hendersonville28 mi away

2%30

Lake Lure14.7 mi away

2%27

Hickory44.1 mi away

2%25

Ruth1.6 mi away

1%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%937

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

How far

How far Rutherfordton commutes

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

38%

13%

25%

24%

38%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

25%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rutherfordton is a job hub

1.69jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Rutherfordton are

2,800 jobs are based in Rutherfordton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rutherfordton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rutherfordton

2,800 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities8%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Rutherfordton residents hold

1,654 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−20%

Jobs based in Rutherfordton, 2013 → 2023: 3,508 → 2,800. 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.