Work & commute · Spruce Pine

Work & commute in Spruce Pine, NC

Most working residents leave Spruce Pine for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Bakersville (4%), Charlotte (4%) and Marion (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

146 of 898 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 752 Spruce Pine residents head out of town to work, 146 work right here, and 1,772 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Spruce Pine.

752live here, work elsewhere

146live and work here

1,772work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Spruce Pine goes to work

Spruce Pine (in town)right here

16%146

Bakersville8.6 mi away

4%40

Charlotte85 mi away

4%32

Marion16.9 mi away

3%30

Asheville36 mi away

2%18

Raleigh192 mi away

1%13

Winston-Salem101.9 mi away

1%10

Burnsville12.8 mi away

1%9

Hickory43.6 mi away

1%9

Morganton23.9 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

65%583

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

How far

How far Spruce Pine commutes

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

48%

18%

12%

21%

48%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Spruce Pine is a job hub

2.14jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Spruce Pine are

1,918 jobs are based in Spruce Pine. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Spruce Pine’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Spruce Pine

1,918 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Spruce Pine residents hold

898 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−13%

Jobs based in Spruce Pine, 2013 → 2023: 2,199 → 1,918. 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.