At 1.6%, unemployment in Holly Ridge is lower than in 89% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Holly Ridge are A− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Measured by household income, Holly Ridge is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. 32% of workers have no commute at all (North Carolina 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Holly Ridge apart
Jobs in Holly Ridge have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Holly Ridge went from 422 in 2014 to 912 in 2024, +116%. The jobs ↓
A lot of Holly Ridge works from home
32% of Holly Ridge workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Time on the road ↓
Holly Ridge workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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 ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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.
The four measures behind Holly Ridge’s grade
The poverty rate holds Holly Ridge’s grade up (0.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Holly Ridge could be anywhere from B to A.
Goods, not services: 34% of the jobs in Holly Ridge
912 jobs are based in Holly Ridge.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Holly Ridge, 2014 → 2024: 422 → 912. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Holly Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 32 minutes from Holly Ridge
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Holly Ridge workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,034 commuters (the 32% 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.
How far Holly Ridge’s workers travel
About 34% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who works in Holly Ridge, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,401 residents head out to work, 71 work right here, and 841 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.
0.62 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 2024, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in Jacksonville
Where Holly Ridge clocks in
7% 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.
In Holly Ridge, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Holly Ridge is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #209 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 3,011 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). 4.2% of Holly Ridge households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Holly Ridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Holly Ridge ranks: 791st of 3,494 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 8,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 188 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 296 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 395 | Stokesdale NC | 6,133 | $121K | 5.6% | 1.9% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 789 | Briar TX | 7,228 | $104K | 6.9% | 3.7% | 1% | A− |
| 790 | Falmouth VA | 5,216 | $112K | 7.2% | 3.4% | 1% | A− |
| 791 | Holly Ridge NC | 5,908 | $105K | 0.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A− |
| 792 | Telford PA | 4,978 | $91K | 6.2% | 4.2% | 4% | A− |
| 793 | Jersey Village TX | 7,729 | $80K | 6.1% | 4.0% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,494 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 3% | 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 Holly Ridge, 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 2024, 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 Holly Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Holly Ridge?
$104,788 (±$21,971) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Holly Ridge?
0.8%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Holly Ridge?
32 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Holly Ridge work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jacksonville (13%, 19 mi), Surf City (7%, 4 mi), Raleigh (4%, 111 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Holly Ridge walkable?
Holly Ridge is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Holly Ridge 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 Holly Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Holly Ridge
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.