Household incomes in Fruitland trail those of 90% of U.S. towns
15.6% of residents live below the poverty line (North Carolina 13.0%). Jobs and income earn Fruitland C+; getting around on foot earns it D. Only 2% work in Fruitland; the top destination outside it is Asheville (17%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Fruitland and work: the main findings
Jobs & income in Fruitland: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fruitland is better than 40% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Fruitland’s grade up (1.5%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($48,025, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fruitland could be anywhere from C− to B.
68% of the jobs in Fruitland pay over $3,333 a month
404 jobs are based in Fruitland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fruitland, 2013 → 2023: 308 → 404. 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 Fruitland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Fruitland
On a workday 881 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 383 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Fruitland on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.45 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.
Where the trip to work from Fruitland ends
Where Fruitland clocks in
16% of workers
6% 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.
About 24 minutes to work from Fruitland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fruitland workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 941 commuters (the 11% 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.
Half of Fruitland commutes less than 10 miles
About 19% 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.
The commute in Fruitland is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fruitland is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Fruitland 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 1,061 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). 3.1% of Fruitland households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fruitland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,995 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200, Fruitland comes 2,732nd on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 158 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,730 | Delaware NY | 2,211 | $96K | 14.5% | 3.6% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,731 | Hill 'n Dale FL | 3,083 | $58K | 10.1% | 2.5% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,732 | Fruitland NC | 2,398 | $48K | 15.6% | 1.5% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,733 | Concordia MO | 2,338 | $59K | 15.5% | 1.0% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,734 | Plattsburg MO | 2,239 | $63K | 17.5% | 1.6% | 11% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Fruitland, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Work next door: 16% of Fruitland’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fruitland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruitland | – | C+ | D | 24 min | $48,025 |
| Hendersonville | 16% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $53,449 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Hendersonville. Darker towns draw more of Fruitland’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 Fruitland: questions
What is the median household income in Fruitland?
$48,025 (±$14,521) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fruitland?
15.6%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fruitland?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fruitland work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Asheville (17%, 14 mi), Hendersonville (16%, 6 mi), Charlotte (6%, 91 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fruitland walkable?
Fruitland is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fruitland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fruitland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fruitland
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.