Photo: Maria Miracoli · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs, income and commuting in Durham, NC
Household incomes here are higher than in 58% of U.S. towns. About two in five work in Durham; the top destination outside it is Raleigh (13%, 18 miles). For 23% of workers, the job is at home, against 16% across North Carolina.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Durham in brief
Durham is where the jobs are
Durham has 194,798 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A lot of Durham works one town over
27% of working residents work in a town that borders Durham: Raleigh (13%), Chapel Hill (7%) and Cary (5%). Next door ↓
The biggest group of Durham’s workers comes from Raleigh
21,446 of the people who work in Durham live in Raleigh, 18 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Durham pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Durham pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Where Durham’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Durham is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #85 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds Durham’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Durham could be anywhere from B to B+.
Durham fills up on a workday
On a workday 71,399 residents head out to work, 51,774 work right here, and 143,024 people come in from elsewhere.
About 377,000 people are in Durham on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.6 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.
Commuting in to Durham: where workers come from
Where Durham clocks in
13% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
72% of the jobs in Durham pay over $3,333 a month
194,798 jobs are based in Durham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Durham, 2013 → 2023: 148,237 → 194,798. 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 Durham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Durham: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Durham workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 119,684 commuters (the 23% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Durham
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.
Durham is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 156,140 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 62% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 35% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 7.2% of Durham households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Durham’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 214,000 to 413,000, Durham ranks 24th of 70 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Fontana CA | 221,223 | $103K | 9.9% | 6.5% | 9% | B+ |
| 23 | Chula Vista CA | 275,533 | $108K | 8.7% | 8.0% | 17% | B+ |
| 24 | Durham NC | 305,561 | $82K | 11.7% | 3.8% | 42% | B+ |
| 25 | Anaheim CA | 341,008 | $95K | 12.4% | 5.8% | 17% | B |
| 26 | Urban Honolulu HI | 345,482 | $87K | 11.9% | 4.8% | 76% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Greensboro NC | 308,667 | $62K | 17.0% | 5.1% | 49% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Winston-Salem NC | 257,271 | $59K | 17.7% | 5.7% | 48% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Cleveland OH | 363,608 | $41K | 30.6% | 10.8% | 42% | C− |
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 Durham, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Next door is work for 27% of Durham
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Durham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | – | B+ | A | 22 min | $81,619 |
| Gorman | under 1% | C | D | 24 min | $47,297 |
| Chapel Hill | 7% | A | A+ | 20 min | $85,989 |
| Raleigh | 13% | B | A | 23 min | $85,395 |
| Morrisville | 2% | A+ | B | 22 min | $125,396 |
| Cary | 5% | A | B+ | 23 min | $134,905 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Raleigh. Darker towns draw more of Durham’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 Durham: questions
What is the median household income in Durham?
$81,619 (±$2,203) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Durham?
11.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Durham?
22 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Durham work?
42% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (13%, 18 mi), Chapel Hill (7%, 9 mi), Cary (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Durham walkable?
Durham is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Durham without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 35% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Durham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Durham
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.