Clayton Graded School and Clayton Grammar School-Municipal Auditorium · Photo: LikeGrantTookRichmond · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Clayton (2.8%) is lower than in 73% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Clayton is better than 78% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (C+). Only 6% work in Clayton itself; outside it, Raleigh draws the most (29%, 16 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 31 minutes, next to 25 for North Carolina and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Clayton: the gist
Clayton draws workers from far and wide
The 9,592 jobs in Clayton are filled from a wide area. Clayton’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 72% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Clayton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
29% of Clayton works in Raleigh
4,038 working residents, 29%, have their main job in Raleigh, 16 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Clayton itself. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Clayton’s Jobs & income grade comes from
The poverty rate is its strongest input (5.9%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($78,822, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clayton could be anywhere from B to A.
Commuting out of Clayton: the destinations
Where Clayton clocks in
29% of workers
6% 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.
From Clayton, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clayton workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,013 commuters (the 18% 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.
Who works in Clayton, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 13,022 residents head out to work, 768 work right here, and 8,824 people come in from elsewhere.
About 28,000 people are in Clayton on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.70 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
What work there is in Clayton: 9,592 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clayton, 2013 → 2023: 7,616 → 9,592. 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 Clayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Clayton works
About 15% 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 Clayton: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.9% across North Carolina.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 15,913 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). 3.4% of Clayton households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Clayton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Clayton ranks: 490th of 1,283 U.S. towns of 23,000 to 44,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Matthews NC | 32,769 | $109K | 3.7% | 2.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Morrisville NC | 32,466 | $125K | 3.1% | 3.3% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Cornelius NC | 35,094 | $114K | 5.4% | 2.4% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 488 | Walker MI | 25,881 | $76K | 7.6% | 2.9% | 11% | A− |
| 489 | Shaker Heights OH | 28,466 | $104K | 8.4% | 4.6% | 8% | A− |
| 490 | Clayton NC | 32,633 | $79K | 5.9% | 2.8% | 6% | A− |
| 491 | Daphne AL | 31,396 | $87K | 7.2% | 2.3% | 14% | A− |
| 492 | Mount Pleasant WI | 28,253 | $92K | 5.9% | 4.5% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,283 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Clayton, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
How Clayton compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clayton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | – | A− | C+ | 31 min | $78,822 |
| Archer Lodge | under 2% | B+ | D | 32 min | $91,188 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clayton’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 Clayton: questions
What is the median household income in Clayton?
$78,822 (±$4,441) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clayton?
5.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clayton?
31 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clayton work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (29%, 16 mi), Cary (6%, 23 mi), Durham (6%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clayton walkable?
Clayton is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clayton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clayton
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.