Newbold-White House · Photo: Harvey Harrison · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Hertford have lower incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
24.7% of residents are in poverty, next to 13.0% for North Carolina as a whole. The two grades for Hertford are D− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. <1% of workers have no commute at all (North Carolina 16%). Measured by household income, Hertford is behind 96% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Hertford in brief
Hertford workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Hertford workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Hertford workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Hertford’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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; with 799 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Hertford gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Hertford is better than 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Hertford’s grade.
Unemployment (3.2%) is left out: Hertford’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Hertford could be anywhere from D− to D.
About 37 minutes to work from Hertford
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hertford workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 726 commuters (the <1% 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.
Most jobs in Hertford are in services
1,114 jobs are based in Hertford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hertford, 2013 → 2023: 1,049 → 1,114. 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 Hertford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Hertford on a workday afternoon
On a workday 687 residents head out to work, 112 work right here, and 1,002 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Hertford on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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.
12% of working residents work in Elizabeth City
Where Hertford clocks in
12% of workers
8% 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.
How far it is to work from Hertford
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 Hertford, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hertford is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Hertford 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 729 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). 24.0% of Hertford households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Hertford’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700, and where Hertford sits
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 159 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,336 | Homer LA | 2,520 | $23K | 45.3% | 5.2% | 19% | D− |
| 5,337 | Tylertown MS | 1,486 | $33K | 34.2% | 11.6% | 18% | D− |
| 5,338 | Hertford NC | 2,011 | $40K | 24.7% | 3.2% | 14% | D− |
| 5,339 | Yanceyville NC | 1,850 | $28K | 38.3% | 1.8% | 10% | D− |
| 5,340 | Waynesboro TN | 2,319 | $41K | 26.7% | 9.9% | 28% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | 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 Hertford, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Work in the towns next to Hertford
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hertford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hertford | – | D− | B+ | 37 min | $40,250 |
| Winfall | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Winfall: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hertford’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 Hertford: questions
What is the median household income in Hertford?
$40,250 (±$8,830) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hertford?
24.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hertford?
37 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. <1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hertford work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elizabeth City (12%, 15 mi), Edenton (8%, 11 mi), Raleigh (4%, 124 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hertford walkable?
Hertford is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hertford without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 24% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hertford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hertford
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.