Photo: Nyttend · Public domainJefferson’s household incomes are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 9% of workers, against 16% across North Carolina. The poverty rate is 22.9%; North Carolina has 13.0%. Jobs and income earn Jefferson D−; getting around on foot earns it C+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Jefferson, in brief
Jefferson has far more jobs than workers
Jefferson has 1,891 jobs, 3.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 3,000 people are in town, 78% more than the 1,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% 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 ↓
Commutes from Jefferson are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. 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 585 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Jefferson’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Jefferson is better than 3% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Jefferson’s grade.
Unemployment (2.5%) is left out: Jefferson’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Jefferson could be anywhere from D− to D.
The daily flow of workers through Jefferson
On a workday 490 residents head out to work, 95 work right here, and 1,796 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in Jefferson on a workday afternoon, 78% more than live here.
3.2 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.
Where in the region Jefferson works
About 30% 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.
Jefferson’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jefferson workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 607 commuters (the 9% 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 the people who work in Jefferson live
Where Jefferson clocks in
16% of workers
8% 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.
The kinds of work in Jefferson
1,891 jobs are based in Jefferson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 1,889 → 1,891. 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 Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Jefferson commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jefferson is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% 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 669 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). 10.5% of Jefferson households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jefferson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Jefferson next to U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 305 | Northlakes NC | 1,716 | $101K | 2.0% | 1.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,458 | Falmouth KY | 2,200 | $35K | 27.8% | 3.5% | 17% | D− |
| 5,459 | Estancia NM | 1,321 | $54K | 22.6% | 39.2% | 11% | D− |
| 5,460 | Jefferson NC | 1,680 | $41K | 22.9% | 2.5% | 16% | D− |
| 5,461 | Biscoe NC | 1,887 | $45K | 34.9% | 3.1% | 9% | D− |
| 5,462 | Shamrock TX | 1,692 | $47K | 19.3% | 5.7% | 31% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Jefferson, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Next door is work for 16% of Jefferson
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jefferson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | – | D− | C+ | 20 min | $40,590 |
| West Jefferson | 16% | D− | A− | 16 min | $46,827 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to West Jefferson. Darker towns draw more of Jefferson’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 Jefferson: questions
What is the median household income in Jefferson?
$40,590 (±$12,413) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jefferson?
22.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jefferson?
20 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jefferson work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Jefferson (16%, 3 mi), Boone (8%, 18 mi), Asheville (4%, 84 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jefferson walkable?
Jefferson is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jefferson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jefferson
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.