Work & commute · Topsail Beach

Work & commute in Topsail Beach, NC

Most working residents leave Topsail Beach for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Surf City (18%), Wilmington (8%) and Hampstead (7%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 163 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

34 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

32%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 159 Topsail Beach residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 141 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Topsail Beach.

159live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

141work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Topsail Beach goes to work

Surf City8.2 mi away

18%30

Wilmington17.4 mi away

8%13

Hampstead6.1 mi away

7%11

Charlotte189.8 mi away

4%7

Topsail Beach (in town)right here

2%4

Holly Ridge11.5 mi away

2%3

Cary118.3 mi away

2%3

Fayetteville90 mi away

2%3

Raleigh115.8 mi away

2%3

Carolina Beach26.7 mi away

1%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%84

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

How far

How far Topsail Beach commutes

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

33%

19%

40%

33%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

40%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Topsail Beach is balanced between jobs and homes

0.89jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.89 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Topsail Beach are

145 jobs are based in Topsail Beach. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Topsail Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Topsail Beach

145 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Topsail Beach residents hold

163 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month59%

−14%

Jobs based in Topsail Beach, 2013 → 2023: 169 → 145. 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.