LaGrange Historic District · Photo: Tradewinds · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in La Grange (14.7%) is among the highest in the country
Jobs & income D: better than 5% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #276 of 290 in North Carolina.
Walkability D: more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns · #279 of 290 in North Carolina.
Household incomes here are lower than in 90% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 21 minutes each way (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26). Only 3% work in La Grange; the top destination outside it is Kinston (18%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from La Grange
Fewer jobs are based in La Grange than ten years ago
Jobs counted in La Grange fell from 815 in 2013 to 497 in 2023, −39%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in La Grange pay little
28% of the jobs based in La Grange pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind La Grange’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Grange is better than 5% of U.S. towns, #276 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds La Grange’s grade up (ahead of 40% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (14.7%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Grange could be anywhere from D− to C+.
What the 497 jobs in La Grange are
497 jobs are based in La Grange. Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Grange’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Grange, 2013 → 2023: 815 → 497. 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.
La Grange quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,006 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 471 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in La Grange on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.48 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.
18% of working residents work in Kinston
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where La Grange clocks in
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 21 minutes each way, quicker than most of North Carolina
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Grange workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 797 commuters (the 11% 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.
Half of La Grange commutes less than 17 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 27% 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.
Most trips from La Grange start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Grange is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns, #279 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place La Grange near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 898 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). 13.1% of La Grange households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Grange’s commuters take a bus or train.
How La Grange compares with U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of La Grange, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 167 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,348 | Philippi WV | 2,846 | $46K | 29.5% | 8.1% | 21% | D |
| 4,349 | Croswell MI | 2,263 | $55K | 17.1% | 11.6% | 16% | D |
| 4,350 | La Grange NC | 2,947 | $48K | 32.0% | 14.7% | 3% | D |
| 4,351 | Red Springs NC | 3,216 | $21K | 40.0% | 8.6% | 9% | D |
| 4,352 | Bethel OH | 2,708 | $44K | 27.5% | 9.0% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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.
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 La Grange: questions
What is the median household income in La Grange?
$48,078 (±$7,945) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Grange?
32.0%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Grange?
21 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Grange work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kinston (18%, 11 mi), Goldsboro (10%, 11 mi), Raleigh (6%, 60 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Grange walkable?
La Grange is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Grange without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Grange, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Grange
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.