Pelletier House and Wantland Spring · Photo: Hammerattack at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0At 7.4%, unemployment in Jacksonville is higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Jacksonville are C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Measured by household income, Jacksonville is behind 77% of U.S. towns. About one in three stay in Jacksonville for work; outside it, Raleigh is the main destination (5%, 104 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Jacksonville, in a few figures
Commutes from Jacksonville are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker, and quicker than any town next door (25 to 33 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Jacksonville is the work center of its corner
Every town that borders Jacksonville (Piney Green, Half Moon and Pumpkin Center) has fewer jobs than working residents, while Jacksonville has 1.5 per resident. Next door ↓
Jacksonville draws workers from far and wide
The 27,404 jobs in Jacksonville are filled from a wide area. Jacksonville’s own residents hold 21% and the ten next-biggest home towns 16%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Jacksonville
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jacksonville is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #218 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds Jacksonville’s grade up (ahead of 45% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jacksonville could be anywhere from D to C.
A commute of about 15 minutes in Jacksonville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jacksonville workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 37,891 commuters (the 13% 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.
Where Jacksonville’s workforce comes from
Where Jacksonville clocks in
5% of workers
5% 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.
Jacksonville’s commute, mile by mile
About 39% 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 daily commute in and out of Jacksonville
On a workday 12,315 residents head out to work, 5,730 work right here, and 21,674 people come in from elsewhere.
About 82,000 people are in Jacksonville on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
What Jacksonville’s employers do
27,404 jobs are based in Jacksonville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jacksonville, 2013 → 2023: 28,424 → 27,404. 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 Jacksonville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Jacksonville
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jacksonville is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #31 of 290 in North Carolina. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 16.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.9% across North Carolina, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 43,472 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). 6.7% of Jacksonville households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Jacksonville’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 51,000 to 98,000, and where Jacksonville sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Huntersville NC | 68,535 | $121K | 3.1% | 3.2% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Apex NC | 80,419 | $144K | 2.2% | 3.8% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Chapel Hill NC | 63,565 | $86K | 18.6% | 4.5% | 27% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 568 | Schenectady NY | 69,471 | $58K | 23.8% | 8.7% | 20% | C− |
| 569 | Delano CA | 52,334 | $67K | 16.0% | 13.9% | 29% | C− |
| 570 | Jacksonville NC | 72,732 | $58K | 12.7% | 7.4% | 32% | C− |
| 571 | Lorain OH | 65,366 | $49K | 25.2% | 6.3% | 15% | C− |
| 572 | Jonesboro AR | 83,296 | $55K | 22.8% | 6.3% | 64% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 599 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Jacksonville, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Next door to Jacksonville
The biggest share goes to Piney Green (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jacksonville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | – | C− | A− | 15 min | $57,697 |
| Piney Green | 1% | C | C− | 25 min | $72,177 |
| Half Moon | under 2% | B | C− | 28 min | $68,946 |
| Pumpkin Center | under 2% | B | D | 33 min | $64,102 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Jacksonville’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 Jacksonville: questions
What is the median household income in Jacksonville?
$57,697 (±$4,961) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jacksonville?
12.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jacksonville?
15 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jacksonville work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (5%, 104 mi), Wilmington (5%, 46 mi), Charlotte (4%, 197 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jacksonville walkable?
Jacksonville is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jacksonville without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jacksonville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jacksonville
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.