Work & commute · Selma

Work & commute in Selma, NC

Most working residents leave Selma for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (14%), Smithfield (14%) and Garner (4%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

109 of 2,262 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 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 2,153 Selma residents head out of town to work, 109 work right here, and 2,811 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Selma.

2,153live here, work elsewhere

109live and work here

2,811work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Selma goes to work

Raleigh28.1 mi away

14%321

Smithfield3.6 mi away

14%315

Selma (in town)right here

5%109

Garner20.9 mi away

4%97

Cary34.3 mi away

4%96

Durham45.5 mi away

3%70

Charlotte144.9 mi away

3%62

Wilson24.2 mi away

2%50

Clayton11.9 mi away

2%46

Greensboro94 mi away

1%30

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%1,066

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

How far

How far Selma commutes

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

28%

21%

31%

20%

28%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Selma is balanced between jobs and homes

1.29jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Selma are

2,920 jobs are based in Selma. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Selma’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Selma

2,920 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities51%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Selma residents hold

2,262 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month43%

+14%

Jobs based in Selma, 2013 → 2023: 2,560 → 2,920. 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.