John H. Adams House · Photo: Lorenzo S. Winslow · Public domainHigh Point has lower household incomes than 67% of U.S. towns
High Point grades C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Poverty touches 15.7% of residents, against 13.0% across North Carolina. About one in five work in High Point itself; outside it, Greensboro draws the most (25%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in High Point: the gist
High Point trades workers with the towns around it
High Point has about as many jobs (57,514) as working residents (48,765), but they are mostly different people: 37,671 residents leave for work each day while 46,420 people come in. Only 19% of the jobs in High Point are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
High Point and Greensboro trade workers both ways
Greensboro is the top workplace for High Point residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in High Point come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Inside High Point’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, High Point is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #154 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds High Point’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, High Point could be anywhere from C to B−.
The daily flow of workers through High Point
On a workday 37,671 residents head out to work, 11,094 work right here, and 46,420 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 (1.18 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.
The places High Point commutes to
Where High Point clocks in
25% 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.
What work there is in High Point: 57,514 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in High Point, 2013 → 2023: 58,803 → 57,514. 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 High Point’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 21 minutes from High Point
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of High Point workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 48,111 commuters (the 10% 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.
High Point’s commute, mile by mile
About 22% 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.
The commute in High Point is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, High Point is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #76 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place High Point 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 53,646 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 9% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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). 7.7% of High Point households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of High Point’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Out of 349 U.S. towns of 84,000 to 163,000, High Point comes 254th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Concord NC | 114,598 | $87K | 9.6% | 5.5% | 19% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Asheville NC | 93,523 | $71K | 14.3% | 5.1% | 52% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 246 | Wilmington NC | 126,809 | $67K | 16.0% | 4.3% | 49% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 252 | Medford OR | 86,494 | $73K | 13.2% | 5.3% | 55% | C+ |
| 253 | Deerfield Beach FL | 89,339 | $60K | 15.1% | 5.4% | 12% | C+ |
| 254 | High Point NC | 120,571 | $65K | 15.7% | 5.2% | 23% | C+ |
| 255 | Kennewick WA | 88,366 | $74K | 14.3% | 5.1% | 29% | C+ |
| 256 | Arden-Arcade CA | 94,994 | $77K | 16.9% | 8.6% | 9% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 High Point, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
The towns next door employ 29% of High Point
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | High Point workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Point | – | C+ | B | 21 min | $64,561 |
| Jamestown | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 13 min | $104,844 |
| Greensboro | 25% | C+ | A− | 22 min | $61,515 |
| Archdale | 2% | A− | B− | 23 min | $64,757 |
| Thomasville | 2% | C+ | C+ | 20 min | $60,935 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Greensboro. Darker towns draw more of High Point’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 High Point: questions
What is the median household income in High Point?
$64,561 (±$4,028) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in High Point?
15.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from High Point?
21 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in High Point work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greensboro (25%, 12 mi), Winston-Salem (10%, 17 mi), Charlotte (5%, 72 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is High Point walkable?
High Point is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around High Point without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from High Point, from the people who make the trip.
More of High Point
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.