Photo: Nyttend · Public domainClinton’s household incomes are lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income D: better than 11% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #259 of 290 in North Carolina.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns · #66 of 290 in North Carolina.
Working residents average 20 minutes each way (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26). About one in four work in Clinton; the top destination outside it is Raleigh (4%, 60 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Clinton
Clinton draws workers from far and wide
The 8,240 jobs in Clinton are filled from a wide area. Clinton’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 12%; the other 78% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Clinton is where the jobs are
Clinton has 8,240 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 13,000 people are in town, 59% more than the 8,500 who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Clinton’s commute
The biggest draw, Raleigh, gets only 4% of working residents, and 54% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Clinton residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Clinton are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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’s behind Clinton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clinton is better than 11% of U.S. towns, #259 of 290 in North Carolina. Unemployment holds Clinton’s grade up (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($44,953, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clinton could be anywhere from D− to C.
Where Clinton’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Clinton clocks in
4% of workers
4% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Clinton fills up on a workday
On a workday 2,414 residents head out to work, 831 work right here, and 7,409 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Clinton on a workday afternoon, 59% more than live here.
2.5 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of North Carolina
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clinton workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,704 commuters (the 8% 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.
Half of Clinton commutes less than 27 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 32% 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.
Clinton makes things: 29% of its jobs are in goods
8,240 jobs are based in Clinton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Clinton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clinton, 2013 → 2023: 8,060 → 8,240. 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.
Most trips from Clinton start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clinton is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #66 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 2,939 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). 12.7% of Clinton households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Clinton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Clinton compares with U.S. towns of 5,900 to 11,400
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Clinton, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 197 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 362 | Summerfield NC | 11,327 | $160K | 7.1% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 369 | Ogden NC | 8,249 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,774 | Vidalia GA | 10,885 | $49K | 25.7% | 5.4% | 39% | D |
| 2,775 | Maysville KY | 8,688 | $39K | 24.3% | 4.4% | 43% | D |
| 2,776 | Clinton NC | 8,466 | $45K | 23.6% | 4.9% | 26% | D |
| 2,777 | Sutherlin OR | 8,635 | $51K | 12.6% | 7.6% | 15% | D |
| 2,778 | Robstown TX | 10,324 | $34K | 32.2% | 8.2% | 16% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,981 | 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.
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 Clinton: questions
What is the median household income in Clinton?
$44,953 (±$4,149) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clinton?
23.6%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clinton?
20 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clinton work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (4%, 60 mi), Fayetteville (4%, 37 mi), Charlotte (3%, 142 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clinton walkable?
Clinton is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clinton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clinton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clinton
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.