Granite Mill · Photo: Bureau of Labor Statistics, State of North Carolina (1897) & State Library of North Carolina · CC BY 2.0Haw River has lower unemployment (1.7%) than 88% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Haw River itself; outside it, Burlington draws the most (20%, 6 miles). Jobs and income earn Haw River B−; getting around on foot earns it C. 6% of workers have no commute at all, where North Carolina as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Haw River stands out on work
Haw River and Burlington trade workers both ways
Burlington is the top workplace for Haw River residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Haw River come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Haw River makes and builds things
46% of the jobs based in Haw River are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Haw River residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
Haw River workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 61 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; with 993 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Haw River’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Haw River is better than 47% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Haw River’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (25.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Haw River could be anywhere from C to B+.
Commuting out of Haw River: the destinations
Where Haw River clocks in
20% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 46% of the jobs in Haw River
598 jobs are based in Haw River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Haw River, 2013 → 2023: 693 → 598. 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 Haw River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Haw River, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Haw River workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,476 commuters (the 6% 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.
Who leaves Haw River for work, and who comes in
On a workday 976 residents head out to work, 17 work right here, and 581 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Haw River on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Haw River
About 15% 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.
Driving is how Haw River gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Haw River is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Haw River 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 1,573 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 4.6% of Haw River households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Haw River’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300, Haw River comes 2,429th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 164 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,427 | Haines AK | 1,757 | $87K | 5.2% | 5.8% | — | B− |
| 2,428 | Riverside AL | 2,312 | $84K | 15.8% | 5.3% | 1% | B− |
| 2,429 | Haw River NC | 2,425 | $61K | 25.1% | 1.7% | 2% | B− |
| 2,430 | Lumberland NY | 2,306 | $103K | 10.0% | 3.8% | 7% | B− |
| 2,431 | Montville Township OH | 1,934 | $74K | 6.4% | 5.6% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | 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 Haw River, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
The towns next door employ 26% of Haw River
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Haw River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haw River | – | B− | C | 33 min | $61,058 |
| Graham | 6% | C | C+ | 26 min | $56,239 |
| Burlington | 20% | C | B− | 24 min | $56,880 |
| Green Level | under 3% | C− | D | 33 min | $55,823 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Burlington. Darker towns draw more of Haw River’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 Haw River: questions
What is the median household income in Haw River?
$61,058 (±$10,811) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Haw River?
25.1%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Haw River?
33 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Haw River work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Burlington (20%, 6 mi), Durham (9%, 27 mi), Greensboro (8%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Haw River walkable?
Haw River is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Haw River without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Haw River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Haw River
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.