Work & commute · Waco

Work & commute in Waco, NC

Most working residents leave Waco for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Shelby (14%), Charlotte (7%) and Gastonia (7%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 107 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

44 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

30%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 106 Waco residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 18 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Waco.

106live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

18work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Waco goes to work

Shelby8.2 mi away

14%15

Charlotte35.4 mi away

7%8

Gastonia15.8 mi away

7%7

Kings Mountain10 mi away

6%6

Lincolnton13.3 mi away

5%5

Cherryville3.2 mi away

3%3

Hickory26.5 mi away

3%3

Raleigh160 mi away

3%3

Boiling Springs15.3 mi away

2%2

Marion38.8 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%53

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

How far

How far Waco commutes

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

28%

33%

27%

12%

28%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

27%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Waco is a commuter town

0.18jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.18 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Waco are

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

Jobs based in Waco

19 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less74%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month0%

Jobs Waco residents hold

107 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+6%

Jobs based in Waco, 2013 → 2023: 18 → 19. 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.