Work & commute · West Jefferson

Work & commute in West Jefferson, NC

Most working residents leave West Jefferson for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Jefferson (15%), Boone (9%) and Charlotte (3%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

72 of 564 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 492 West Jefferson residents head out of town to work, 72 work right here, and 1,945 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Jefferson.

492live here, work elsewhere

72live and work here

1,945work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Jefferson goes to work

Jefferson2.9 mi away

15%83

West Jefferson (in town)right here

13%72

Boone15.2 mi away

9%52

Charlotte89 mi away

3%18

Asheville81.7 mi away

3%17

Wilkesboro24 mi away

2%10

Greensboro94.9 mi away

2%10

North Wilkesboro24.3 mi away

2%9

Winston-Salem71.1 mi away

2%9

Raleigh163.5 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%276

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

How far

How far West Jefferson commutes

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

44%

16%

10%

30%

44%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Jefferson is a job hub

3.58jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Jefferson are

2,017 jobs are based in West Jefferson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Jefferson

2,017 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs West Jefferson residents hold

564 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+39%

Jobs based in West Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 1,451 → 2,017. 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.