Hampstead has higher unemployment (6.3%) than 77% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 30 minutes, where North Carolina has 25 and the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Hampstead C+; getting around on foot earns it C+. Only 6% work in Hampstead itself; outside it, Wilmington draws the most (33%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Hampstead, in a few figures
Jobs in Hampstead have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Hampstead went from 908 in 2013 to 2,094 in 2023, +131%. The jobs ↓
One in three of Hampstead works in Wilmington
1,026 working residents, 33%, have their main job in Wilmington, 13 miles away. That’s 6 times as many as work in Hampstead itself. The commute map ↓
Hampstead workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Hampstead gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hampstead is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #151 of 290 in North Carolina. Household income holds Hampstead’s grade up ($91,745, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hampstead could be anywhere from D to A.
Jobs in Hampstead: what the 2,094 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hampstead, 2013 → 2023: 908 → 2,094. 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 Hampstead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of Hampstead: the destinations
Where Hampstead clocks in
33% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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 Hampstead: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hampstead workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,303 commuters (the 17% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Hampstead
On a workday 2,902 residents head out to work, 169 work right here, and 1,925 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,300 people are in Hampstead on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
How far Hampstead’s workers travel
About 29% 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 Hampstead, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hampstead is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #161 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 3,989 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). 3.6% of Hampstead households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hampstead’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Hampstead ranks: 1,868th of 2,841 U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 196 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 365 | Summerfield NC | 11,327 | $160K | 7.1% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 373 | Ogden NC | 8,249 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,866 | Sparta Township MI | 9,617 | $76K | 10.8% | 8.3% | 12% | C+ |
| 1,867 | Wolfeboro NH | 6,637 | $94K | 8.2% | 5.0% | 35% | C+ |
| 1,868 | Hampstead NC | 9,292 | $92K | 9.5% | 6.3% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,869 | Mount Pleasant IA | 8,500 | $61K | 15.7% | 1.7% | 44% | C+ |
| 1,870 | Lenox NY | 8,541 | $76K | 10.4% | 6.0% | 14% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,841 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Hampstead, 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 Hampstead: questions
What is the median household income in Hampstead?
$91,745 (±$28,177) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hampstead?
9.5%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hampstead?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hampstead work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilmington (33%, 13 mi), Charlotte (3%, 184 mi), Raleigh (3%, 113 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hampstead walkable?
Hampstead is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hampstead without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hampstead, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hampstead
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.