Unemployment in Granite Falls (6.8%) is higher than in 81% of U.S. towns
9% of workers work from home (North Carolina 16%). For jobs and income Granite Falls is better than 20% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (C+). Household incomes here are lower than in 78% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Granite Falls apart
Granite Falls trades workers with the towns around it
Granite Falls has about as many jobs (2,378) as working residents (2,140), but they are mostly different people: 2,050 residents leave for work each day while 2,288 people come in. Only 4% of the jobs in Granite Falls are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Granite Falls averages 24 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (18 to 21 minutes). Next door ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Granite Falls than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Granite Falls fell from 3,219 in 2013 to 2,378 in 2023, −26%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Granite Falls
Job access by car holds Granite Falls’ grade up (ahead of 54% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Granite Falls could be anywhere from D to B−.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,050 residents head out to work, 90 work right here, and 2,288 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 (1.11 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Jobs in Granite Falls: what the 2,378 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Granite Falls, 2013 → 2023: 3,219 → 2,378. 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 Granite Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
23% of working residents work in Hickory
Where Granite Falls clocks in
23% 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.
The trip to work from Granite Falls: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Granite Falls workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,948 commuters (the 9% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Granite Falls
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.
Most of Granite Falls commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.9% across North Carolina.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,138 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). 3.2% of Granite Falls households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Granite Falls’ commuters take a bus or train.
Granite Falls is 3,038th of 3,692 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 194 | Fairview NC | 3,805 | $99K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 291 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,036 | Southside AR | 4,274 | $66K | 17.5% | 5.4% | 13% | C− |
| 3,037 | Crystal Springs MS | 4,629 | $49K | 17.5% | 5.5% | 13% | C− |
| 3,038 | Granite Falls NC | 4,964 | $57K | 17.2% | 6.8% | 4% | C− |
| 3,039 | Brookville Township IN | 5,797 | $64K | 11.3% | 7.6% | 17% | C− |
| 3,040 | Trimble Township OH | 3,972 | $58K | 19.2% | 3.6% | 7% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Granite Falls, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
23% of Granite Falls works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Granite Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granite Falls | – | C− | C+ | 24 min | $56,917 |
| Northlakes | under 2% | A | D | 18 min | $101,250 |
| Rhodhiss | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Hickory | 23% | C+ | B | 21 min | $64,576 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rhodhiss: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Hickory. Darker towns draw more of Granite Falls’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 Granite Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Granite Falls?
$56,917 (±$10,387) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Granite Falls?
17.2%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Granite Falls?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Granite Falls work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hickory (23%, 7 mi), Lenoir (10%, 9 mi), Charlotte (4%, 53 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Granite Falls walkable?
Granite Falls is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Granite Falls 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 Granite Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Granite Falls
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.