Work & commute · Smithfield

Work & commute in Smithfield, NC

Most working residents leave Smithfield for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (16%), Durham (4%) and Garner (3%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

792 of 4,791 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 3,999 Smithfield residents head out of town to work, 792 work right here, and 12,904 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Smithfield.

3,999live here, work elsewhere

792live and work here

12,904work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Smithfield goes to work

Smithfield (in town)right here

17%792

Raleigh26.8 mi away

16%789

Durham43.8 mi away

4%193

Garner18.7 mi away

3%162

Clayton10.7 mi away

3%154

Cary32 mi away

3%144

Charlotte141.3 mi away

2%119

Selma3.6 mi away

2%110

Greensboro91.4 mi away

2%78

Wilson27.7 mi away

2%76

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%2,174

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

How far

How far Smithfield commutes

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

27%

21%

34%

18%

27%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

34%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Smithfield is a job hub

2.86jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Smithfield are

13,696 jobs are based in Smithfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Smithfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Smithfield

13,696 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Smithfield residents hold

4,791 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+3%

Jobs based in Smithfield, 2013 → 2023: 13,293 → 13,696. 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.