Jarvisburg Colored School · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ. M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0At 0.9%, unemployment in Grandy is lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 24 minutes each way, next to 25 for North Carolina and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for Grandy are B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 4% work in Grandy; the top destination outside it is Kitty Hawk (10%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Grandy at work: what stands out
Many jobs in Grandy pay little
33% of the jobs based in Grandy pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Grandy
54% of Grandy residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 29% of the jobs based in Grandy pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Grandy empties out on a workday
About 1,400 people are in Grandy on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than the 2,200 who live here: 1,200 head out to work and 360 come in. Day and night ↓
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 Grandy’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Grandy is better than 50% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Grandy’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Grandy could be anywhere from C to B+.
Inside Grandy’s 409 jobs
409 jobs are based in Grandy.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grandy, 2013 → 2023: 281 → 409. 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 Grandy’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Grandy: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,207 residents head out to work, 54 work right here, and 355 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Grandy on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
0.32 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 Grandy’s working residents head each day
Where Grandy clocks in
8% 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.
About 24 minutes each way, about the NC average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grandy workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,076 commuters (the 12% 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 far Grandy goes to work
About 24% 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.
In Grandy, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Grandy is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Grandy 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 1,216 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). 3.0% of Grandy households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Grandy’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Grandy is 2,164th of 5,102 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 100 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,162 | Jefferson Township PA | 2,210 | $73K | 6.5% | 7.6% | 7% | B− |
| 2,163 | Waitsfield VT | 1,887 | $84K | 6.0% | 1.8% | 24% | B− |
| 2,164 | Grandy NC | 2,245 | $63K | 6.9% | 0.9% | 4% | B− |
| 2,165 | East Lexington VA | 1,652 | $64K | 3.9% | 0.0% | 5% | B− |
| 2,166 | Fawn Township PA | 2,093 | $88K | 10.9% | 7.0% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | 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 Grandy, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
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 Grandy: questions
What is the median household income in Grandy?
$62,847 (±$17,273) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grandy?
6.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grandy?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grandy work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kitty Hawk (10%, 15 mi), Kill Devil Hills (8%, 19 mi), Nags Head (5%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Grandy walkable?
Grandy is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grandy 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 Grandy, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grandy
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.