Households in Emma have lower incomes than those in 94% of U.S. towns
Emma grades C+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 11.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.3 in Charlotte.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Emma: the gist
44% of Emma works in Asheville
358 working residents, 44%, have their main job in Asheville, 3.2 miles away across the town line. That’s 44 times as many as work in Emma itself. The commute map ↓
Most Emma residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Few Emma workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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; with 812 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Emma
On income, poverty and job access, Emma is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #169 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds Emma’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($43,907, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Emma’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Emma could be anywhere from C− to B+.
44% of working residents work in Asheville
Where Emma clocks in
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.
How far Emma goes to work
About 22% 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.
About 20 minutes to work from Emma
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Emma workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 956 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.
How a workday changes Emma
On a workday 803 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 533 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Emma on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
Emma works in goods: 32% of its jobs
542 jobs are based in Emma.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Emma, 2013 → 2023: 438 → 542. 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 Emma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Emma is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Emma is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #2 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place Emma 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 984 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 47% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 0.0% of Emma households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 13% of Emma’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Emma is 2,872nd among 4,797 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 391 | Swepsonville NC | 2,632 | $101K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,870 | Santa Anna Township IL | 2,249 | $73K | 8.6% | 8.1% | 19% | C+ |
| 2,871 | Ovid Township MI | 2,208 | $106K | 22.6% | 6.4% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,872 | Emma NC | 2,657 | $44K | 11.3% | 0.0% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,873 | Virden IL | 3,149 | $81K | 10.2% | 6.8% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,874 | Milford IA | 3,209 | $63K | 8.9% | 4.2% | 23% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Emma, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
The towns next door employ 44% of Emma
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Asheville. Darker towns draw more of Emma’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 Emma: questions
What is the median household income in Emma?
$43,907 (±$9,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Emma?
11.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Emma?
20 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 Emma work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Asheville (44%, 3 mi), Charlotte (4%, 103 mi), Woodfin (2%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Emma walkable?
Emma is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Emma without a car?
13% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 47% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Emma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Emma
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.