Work & commute · Surf

Work & commute in Surf, NC

Most working residents leave Surf for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Wilmington (17%), Hampstead (3%) and Fayetteville (3%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

188 of 1,551 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,363 Surf residents head out of town to work, 188 work right here, and 1,842 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Surf.

1,363live here, work elsewhere

188live and work here

1,842work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Surf goes to work

Wilmington25.6 mi away

17%271

Surf City (in town)right here

12%188

Hampstead13.5 mi away

3%50

Fayetteville92.5 mi away

3%46

Jacksonville21.3 mi away

3%44

Raleigh114.3 mi away

3%44

Charlotte194 mi away

3%41

Burgaw23.1 mi away

2%24

Porters Neck16.9 mi away

1%20

Topsail Beach8.2 mi away

1%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%804

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

How far

How far Surf commutes

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

27%

14%

32%

27%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Surf is balanced between jobs and homes

1.31jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Surf are

2,030 jobs are based in Surf. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Surf’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Surf

2,030 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less29%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month37%

Jobs Surf residents hold

1,551 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+109%

Jobs based in Surf, 2013 → 2023: 970 → 2,030. 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.