Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0There are 2.0 jobs in Carthage for every working resident, and 2,007 people commute in
There are 2,097 jobs in Carthage, and 1,068 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Carthage is better than 47% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (B−). About one in ten work in Carthage; the top destination outside it is Pinehurst (12%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Carthage apart
Carthage is where the jobs are
Carthage has 2,097 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Carthage is services
85% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
Inside Carthage’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Carthage’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 25% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Carthage could be anywhere from C− to B+.
How many people are in Carthage by day
On a workday 978 residents head out to work and 90 work right here.
About 4,100 people are in Carthage on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
2.0 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.
Most jobs in Carthage are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carthage, 2013 → 2023: 1,818 → 2,097. 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 Carthage’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to Carthage: where workers come from
Where Carthage clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
6% 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 trip to work from Carthage: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carthage workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,173 commuters (the 14% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Carthage
About 26% 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.
Most trips from Carthage start in a car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,369 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.6% of Carthage households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Carthage’s commuters take a bus or train.
Carthage places 2,439th of 4,771 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,437 | Arnold CA | 2,482 | $92K | 4.2% | 5.4% | 7% | B− |
| 2,438 | Winnie TX | 3,290 | $81K | 4.4% | 12.8% | 6% | B− |
| 2,439 | Carthage NC | 3,070 | $83K | 14.2% | 2.7% | 8% | B− |
| 2,440 | Nicoma Park OK | 2,294 | $62K | 17.8% | 3.5% | 2% | B− |
| 2,441 | Yellowhead Township IL | 2,549 | $95K | 9.5% | 9.4% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Carthage, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
11% of Carthage works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carthage workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carthage | – | B− | B− | 27 min | $82,695 |
| Southern Pines | 11% | B− | B− | 23 min | $88,535 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Southern Pines. Darker towns draw more of Carthage’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 Carthage: questions
What is the median household income in Carthage?
$82,695 (±$18,936) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carthage?
14.2%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carthage?
27 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carthage work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pinehurst (12%, 10 mi), Southern Pines (11%, 9 mi), Sanford (6%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Carthage walkable?
Carthage is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carthage without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carthage, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carthage
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.