JAARS at work: jobs, income and the commute
51% of workers have no commute at all; North Carolina has 16%. Only 4% work in JAARS; the top destination outside it is Charlotte (31%, 24 miles). The trip to work takes 50 minutes on average (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through JAARS
On a workday 161 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 96 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.
0.61 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.
The towns that employ JAARS’s residents
Where JAARS clocks in
31% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Services make up most of the work in JAARS
102 jobs are based in JAARS.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in JAARS, 2013 → 2023: 40 → 102. 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 JAARS’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from JAARS: about 50 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 16 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of JAARS workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 89 commuters (the 51% 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 JAARS’s workers travel
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.
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 JAARS: questions
What is the median household income in JAARS?
$65,777 (±$20,021) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in JAARS?
27.8%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from JAARS?
50 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 51% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in JAARS work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charlotte (31%, 24 mi), Monroe (8%, 14 mi), Waxhaw (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around JAARS without a car?
13% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from JAARS, from the people who make the trip.
More of JAARS
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.