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Ellenboro North CarolinaPhoto: Hyelton · CC BY 3.0
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Jobs & commute in Ellenboro

Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Ellenboro

The average commute takes 24 minutes each way, where North Carolina has 25 and the U.S. 26. Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, against 16% across North Carolina. Only 1% stay in Ellenboro for work; outside it, Forest City is the main destination (14%, 6 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out

Ellenboro and work: the main findings

★ What stands out · Time on the road

A commute of about 24 minutes in Ellenboro

A year of commuting
181 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Ellenboro24 min
North Carolina25 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
3%

of Ellenboro workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Ellenboro gets to work
87%Drive alone
9%Carpool
4%Other

Share of the 310 commuters (the 3% 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.

Day and night

The workday shuffle in and out of Ellenboro

On a workday 320 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 230 people come in from elsewhere.

320live here, work elsewhere
4live and work here
230work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night740
Workday650
740live here− 320head out to work+ 230come in to work= 650on a workday

About 650 people are in Ellenboro on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.72jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.72 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.

The commute map

Where Ellenboro’s working residents head each day

TuscaloosaLattimoreRhodhissEllenboroCasarRutherfordton: 14 residents work here (4%)Boiling Springs: 6 residents work here (2%)SpindaleForest City: 46 residents work here (14%)Shelby: 15 residents work here (5%)Asheville: 8 residents work here (2%)Hickory: 8 residents work here (2%)Charlotte: 27 residents work here (8%)Raleigh: 6 residents work here (2%)Spartanburg: 5 residents work here (2%)Forest CityCharlotteShelbyRutherfordtonAshevilleHickoryEllenboro
1
Forest City6.2 mi away
14%46
2
Charlotte53.1 mi away
8%27
3
Shelby12.5 mi away
5%15
4
Rutherfordton11.5 mi away
4%14
5
Asheville47.5 mi away
2%8
6
Hickory37.3 mi away
2%8
7
Boiling Springs7.7 mi away
2%6
8
Raleigh178.7 mi away
2%6
9
Spartanburg, SC28.2 mi away
2%5
10
Ellenboro (in town)right here
1%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
57%185
The top trips

Where Ellenboro clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Goods jobs make up 29% of work in Ellenboro

234 jobs are based in Ellenboro.

Jobs based in EllenboroJobs Ellenboro residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms29%23%
Trade, transport & utilities16%22%
Services: health, schools, offices56%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less22%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month37%31%
Over $3,333 a month41%56%

Who does it

29 or younger21%23%
30 to 5450%56%
55 and older29%21%
+21%

Jobs based in Ellenboro, 2013 → 2023: 194 → 234. 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 Ellenboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How far

Ellenboro’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miForest City: 14% · 6.2 miCharlotte: 8% · 53.1 miShelby: 5% · 12.5 miRutherfordton: 4% · 11.5 miAsheville: 2% · 47.5 miHickory: 2% · 37.3 miBoiling Springs: 2% · 7.7 miRaleigh: 2% · 178.7 miSpartanburg: 2% · 28.2 miForest City 14%Charlotte 8%Shelby 5%Rutherfordton 4%Asheville 2%Ellenboro
EllenboroTop destinations (size = commuters)
37%Under 10 mi111 residents
15%10–24 mi46 residents
25%25–50 mi77 residents
23%Over 50 mi69 residents

About 23% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Ellenboro: questions

What is the median household income in Ellenboro?

$49,769 (±$41,259) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Ellenboro?

18.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Ellenboro?

24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Ellenboro work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Forest City (14%, 6 mi), Charlotte (8%, 53 mi), Shelby (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Ellenboro without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Ellenboro, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Ellenboro

Ellenboro home →

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.