Photo: IraEskins · CC BY-SA 3.0Earning a living in Holden Beach
Working residents average 23 minutes each way, next to 25 for North Carolina and 26 for the U.S. 24% of workers have no commute at all, against 16% across North Carolina. About one in seven work in Holden Beach itself; outside it, Wilmington draws the most (9%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Holden Beach apart
Holden Beach’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Holden Beach is Wilmington, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (25) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Holden Beach
25% of Holden Beach workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. 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 270 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far Holden Beach’s workers travel
About 40% 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.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of North Carolina
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Holden Beach workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 327 commuters (the 24% 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 Holden Beach
On a workday 231 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 201 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 (0.89 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 Holden Beach commutes to
Where Holden Beach clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
Holden Beach is a services town
240 jobs are based in Holden Beach.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Holden Beach, 2013 → 2023: 209 → 240. 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 Holden Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Holden Beach: questions
What is the median household income in Holden Beach?
$116,250 (±$19,500) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Holden Beach?
4.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Holden Beach?
23 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Holden Beach work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilmington (9%, 32 mi), Raleigh (7%, 134 mi), Shallotte (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Holden Beach without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Holden Beach, from the people who make the trip.
More of Holden Beach
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.