Walnut Hill Historic District · Photo: Nicholas Oren Rawlings · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Knightdale top those of 79% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 24 minutes on average (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26). 5.3% of residents live below the poverty line, where North Carolina as a whole has 13.0%. For jobs and income Knightdale is better than 87% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Knightdale
Knightdale and Raleigh trade workers both ways
Raleigh is the top workplace for Knightdale residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Knightdale come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Knightdale has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Knightdale went from 4,830 in 2014 to 7,338 in 2024, +52%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Knightdale
67% of Knightdale residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Knightdale pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Knightdale draws workers from far and wide
The 7,338 jobs in Knightdale are filled from a wide area. Knightdale’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Inside Knightdale’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Knightdale could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
36% of working residents work in Raleigh
Where Knightdale clocks in
36% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
What Knightdale’s employers do
7,338 jobs are based in Knightdale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Knightdale, 2014 → 2024: 4,830 → 7,338. 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 Knightdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Knightdale quiets down on a workday
On a workday 9,913 residents head out to work, 414 work right here, and 6,924 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Knightdale on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.71 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.
Each way, about 24 minutes from Knightdale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Knightdale workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,202 commuters (the 19% 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 commute from Knightdale, by distance
About 17% 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.
Most of Knightdale commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 11,366 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 48% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.7% of Knightdale households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Knightdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
387th of 1,712: where Knightdale ranks among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Harrisburg NC | 20,742 | $148K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 158 | Wendell NC | 19,687 | $96K | 3.2% | 1.3% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 385 | Spanish Springs NV | 17,980 | $128K | 2.9% | 2.8% | 6% | A |
| 386 | Jefferson GA | 17,185 | $110K | 5.6% | 2.6% | 15% | A |
| 387 | Knightdale NC | 23,144 | $103K | 5.3% | 3.4% | 4% | A |
| 388 | Crowley TX | 20,954 | $95K | 5.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| 389 | Fort Thomas KY | 17,142 | $104K | 6.1% | 3.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 454 | Davidson NC | 16,662 | $167K | 7.0% | 4.1% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Knightdale, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
The towns next door employ 36% of Knightdale
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Knightdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knightdale | – | A | B+ | 24 min | $103,220 |
| Raleigh | 36% | B | A | 23 min | $85,395 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Raleigh. Darker towns draw more of Knightdale’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 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 Knightdale: questions
What is the median household income in Knightdale?
$103,220 (±$11,333) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Knightdale?
5.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Knightdale?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Knightdale work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (36%, 9 mi), Durham (8%, 26 mi), Cary (7%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Knightdale walkable?
Knightdale is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Knightdale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Knightdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Knightdale
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.