Household incomes in East Flat Rock are lower than in 75% of U.S. towns
12.6% of residents are in poverty (North Carolina 13.0%). East Flat Rock grades C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. For 2% of workers, the job is at home, against 16% across North Carolina.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in East Flat Rock
Few East Flat Rock workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from East Flat Rock are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
East Flat Rock makes and builds things
39% of the jobs based in East Flat Rock are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs East Flat Rock residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 23%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
East Flat Rock’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, East Flat Rock is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #179 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds East Flat Rock’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($59,583, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, East Flat Rock could be anywhere from D to B+.
The trip to work from East Flat Rock: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of East Flat Rock workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,855 commuters (the 2% 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.
East Flat Rock works in goods: 39% of its jobs
1,644 jobs are based in East Flat Rock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in East Flat Rock, 2014 → 2024: 1,571 → 1,644. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs East Flat Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes East Flat Rock
On a workday 2,007 residents head out to work, 141 work right here, and 1,503 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
20% of working residents work in Hendersonville
Where East Flat Rock clocks in
20% of workers
4% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from East Flat Rock
About 21% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of East Flat Rock, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, East Flat Rock is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #64 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place East Flat Rock 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 2,907 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). 9.5% of East Flat Rock households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of East Flat Rock’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,411th of 3,349: where East Flat Rock ranks among U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,500
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 286 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 345 | Ogden NC | 8,249 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,409 | Sawmills NC | 5,105 | $71K | 9.9% | 8.0% | 2% | C |
| 2,410 | Everman TX | 6,537 | $68K | 20.8% | 10.9% | 4% | C |
| 2,411 | East Flat Rock NC | 6,323 | $60K | 12.6% | 5.0% | 7% | C |
| 2,412 | Folcroft PA | 6,780 | $61K | 16.2% | 10.3% | 3% | C |
| 2,413 | Rockdale TX | 5,688 | $61K | 9.1% | 4.3% | 22% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,349 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 East Flat Rock, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
East Flat Rock and its neighbors: 21% work next door
The biggest share goes to Hendersonville (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | East Flat Rock workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Flat Rock | – | C | B+ | 18 min | $59,583 |
| Flat Rock | 1% | B | C− | 25 min | $95,098 |
| Hendersonville | 20% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $53,449 |
| Barker Heights | under 2% | D | C+ | 16 min | $29,277 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of East Flat Rock’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 2024, 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 East Flat Rock: questions
What is the median household income in East Flat Rock?
$59,583 (±$8,659) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in East Flat Rock?
12.6%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from East Flat Rock?
18 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in East Flat Rock work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hendersonville (20%, 4 mi), Asheville (13%, 22 mi), Charlotte (4%, 90 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is East Flat Rock walkable?
East Flat Rock is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around East Flat Rock without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from East Flat Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of East Flat Rock
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.