Thomas Wolfe House · Photo: Abe Ezekowitz · CC BY-SA 2.0Asheville draws 68,243 commuters a day, with 2.3 jobs for every working resident
There are 88,469 jobs in Asheville, and 39,051 of its residents work somewhere. Asheville grades B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.3 in Charlotte.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Asheville: the gist
Asheville is where the jobs are
Asheville has 88,469 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 143,000 people are in town, 53% more than the 94,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Asheville draws workers from far and wide
The 88,469 jobs in Asheville are filled from a wide area. Asheville’s own residents hold 23% and the ten next-biggest home towns 10%; the other 67% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Asheville are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Asheville
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Asheville is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #142 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds Asheville’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.3%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Asheville could be anywhere from C+ to B.
In and out of Asheville on a workday
On a workday 18,825 residents head out to work and 20,226 work right here.
About 143,000 people are in Asheville on a workday afternoon, 53% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Asheville’s workforce comes from
Where Asheville clocks in
5% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Time on the road from Asheville: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Asheville workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 38,157 commuters (the 20% who work from home are left out). Across North Carolina: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
What Asheville’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Asheville, 2013 → 2023: 75,153 → 88,469. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Asheville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Asheville’s commute, mile by mile
About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Asheville
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Asheville is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #7 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place Asheville near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 47,729 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 80% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.6% of Asheville households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Asheville’s commuters take a bus or train.
355th of 489: where Asheville ranks among U.S. towns of 65,000 to 126,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Huntersville NC | 68,535 | $121K | 3.1% | 3.2% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Apex NC | 80,419 | $144K | 2.2% | 3.8% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 262 | Concord NC | 114,598 | $87K | 9.6% | 5.5% | 19% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 353 | Rock Hill SC | 75,911 | $69K | 12.6% | 5.8% | 29% | B− |
| 354 | Davenport IA | 100,358 | $66K | 15.2% | 4.6% | 47% | B− |
| 355 | Asheville NC | 93,523 | $71K | 14.3% | 5.1% | 52% | B− |
| 356 | Compton CA | 90,500 | $78K | 17.9% | 8.0% | 6% | C+ |
| 357 | Inglewood CA | 101,662 | $73K | 14.6% | 8.3% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 489 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Asheville, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Next door to Asheville
The biggest share goes to Woodfin (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Asheville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asheville | – | B− | A | 18 min | $71,102 |
| Woodfin | 2% | B | B− | 23 min | $71,384 |
| Emma | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 20 min | $43,907 |
| Biltmore Forest | 1% | A+ | B− | 18 min | $169,167 |
| Royal Pines | under 2% | A | C− | 26 min | $107,885 |
| Fletcher | 1% | B+ | C+ | 24 min | $75,272 |
| Mills River | 1% | A | C− | 21 min | $105,398 |
| Avery Creek | under 2% | A+ | C− | 17 min | $113,261 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Asheville’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Asheville: questions
What is the median household income in Asheville?
$71,102 (±$3,950) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Asheville?
14.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Asheville?
18 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Asheville work?
52% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charlotte (5%, 100 mi), Hendersonville (2%, 18 mi), Woodfin (2%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Asheville walkable?
Asheville is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.5 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Asheville without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 34% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Asheville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Asheville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.