Photo: Mojo Hand · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs, income and commuting in Black Mountain, NC
Jobs and income earn Black Mountain B; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in seven stay in Black Mountain for work; outside it, Asheville is the main destination (29%, 13 miles). Commuters spend 21 minutes getting to work on average, where North Carolina has 25 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Black Mountain: the gist
Black Mountain is where the jobs are
Black Mountain has 4,923 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
29% of Black Mountain works in Asheville
950 working residents, 29%, have their main job in Asheville, 13 miles away. That’s more than work in Black Mountain itself. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
41% of the jobs in Black Mountain are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Black Mountain’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Black Mountain is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #98 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate holds Black Mountain’s grade up (5.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Black Mountain could be anywhere from C to A.
Black Mountain by day and by night
On a workday 2,728 residents head out to work, 554 work right here, and 4,369 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Black Mountain on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The daily trip into Black Mountain
Where Black Mountain clocks in
4% 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.
The kinds of work in Black Mountain
4,923 jobs are based in Black Mountain.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Black Mountain, 2013 → 2023: 4,084 → 4,923. 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 Black Mountain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Black Mountain
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Black Mountain workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,806 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.
How far it is to work from Black Mountain
About 22% 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.
Getting around Black Mountain: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Black Mountain is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #50 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place Black Mountain 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 3,496 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 11% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 11.1% of Black Mountain households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Black Mountain’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,435th of 3,015: where Black Mountain ranks among U.S. towns of 5,900 to 11,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 202 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 369 | Summerfield NC | 11,327 | $160K | 7.1% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 377 | Ogden NC | 8,249 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,433 | Palmyra PA | 7,762 | $77K | 11.6% | 3.5% | 6% | B |
| 1,434 | Northbrook OH | 10,742 | $67K | 10.7% | 3.4% | 1% | B |
| 1,435 | Black Mountain NC | 8,491 | $77K | 5.9% | 3.9% | 17% | B |
| 1,436 | Newstead NY | 8,695 | $71K | 6.6% | 4.3% | 18% | B |
| 1,437 | Union OH | 7,177 | $73K | 12.6% | 2.8% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,015 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Black Mountain, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Black Mountain and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Swannanoa (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Black Mountain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mountain | – | B | B+ | 21 min | $77,042 |
| Swannanoa | 2% | C− | A− | 19 min | $69,760 |
| Montreat | 1% | A | B+ | 13 min | $115,568 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Black Mountain’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 Black Mountain: questions
What is the median household income in Black Mountain?
$77,042 (±$17,162) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Black Mountain?
5.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Black Mountain?
21 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 Black Mountain work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Asheville (29%, 13 mi), Charlotte (4%, 89 mi), Swannanoa (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Black Mountain walkable?
Black Mountain is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Black Mountain without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Black Mountain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Black Mountain
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.