Work & commute · Sanford

Work & commute in Sanford, NC

About one in 3 of Sanford’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (10%), Cary (4%) and Durham (4%). Half commute less than 27 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

3,683 of 12,575 working residents

Typical commute

27 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 8,892 Sanford residents head out of town to work, 3,683 work right here, and 14,902 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sanford.

8,892live here, work elsewhere

3,683live and work here

14,902work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sanford goes to work

Sanford (in town)right here

29%3,683

Raleigh38.1 mi away

10%1,303

Cary28.1 mi away

4%501

Durham36.9 mi away

4%441

Charlotte95.3 mi away

3%393

Fayetteville30.7 mi away

3%354

Apex23.1 mi away

2%222

Pinehurst26.7 mi away

2%216

Greensboro55.1 mi away

1%166

Chapel Hill31 mi away

1%147

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%5,149

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

How far

How far Sanford commutes

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

38%

10%

35%

17%

38%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

35%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sanford is balanced between jobs and homes

1.48jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Sanford are

18,585 jobs are based in Sanford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sanford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sanford

18,585 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Sanford residents hold

12,575 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+0%

Jobs based in Sanford, 2013 → 2023: 18,571 → 18,585. 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.