Photo: Daniel Hass · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Lake Junaluska (6.6%) than in 79% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 14 minutes on average, where North Carolina has 25 and the U.S. 26. Lake Junaluska grades C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Only 3% work in Lake Junaluska; the top destination outside it is Asheville (15%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Lake Junaluska
Commutes from Lake Junaluska are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lake Junaluska
55% of Lake Junaluska residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 33% of the jobs based in Lake Junaluska pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Lake Junaluska’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lake Junaluska is Asheville, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (192) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Many jobs in Lake Junaluska pay little
27% of the jobs based in Lake Junaluska pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 34% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Lake Junaluska
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Junaluska is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #180 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate holds Lake Junaluska’s grade up (9.4%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Junaluska could be anywhere from D to A.
About 14 minutes each way, quicker than most of North Carolina
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Junaluska workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,053 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.
What the 783 jobs in Lake Junaluska are
783 jobs are based in Lake Junaluska.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Junaluska, 2013 → 2023: 931 → 783. 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 Lake Junaluska’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Lake Junaluska works
About 20% 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.
Who leaves Lake Junaluska for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,250 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 747 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Lake Junaluska on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
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.
Where people from Lake Junaluska work
Where Lake Junaluska clocks in
14% of workers
3% 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.
Lake Junaluska is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Junaluska is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #15 of 290 in North Carolina. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.9% across North Carolina, on an EPA index of 8.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,307 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). 7.2% of Lake Junaluska households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lake Junaluska’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300, Lake Junaluska comes 3,150th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 170 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,148 | Bertsch-Oceanview CA | 2,250 | $73K | 9.6% | 4.7% | 8% | C |
| 3,149 | Freedom Township OH | 2,678 | $71K | 17.9% | 7.5% | 2% | C |
| 3,150 | Lake Junaluska NC | 3,175 | $66K | 9.4% | 6.6% | 3% | C |
| 3,151 | Iowa LA | 3,301 | $60K | 15.8% | 4.4% | 6% | C |
| 3,152 | Marine City MI | 3,997 | $68K | 7.6% | 9.2% | 9% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Lake Junaluska, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
14% of Lake Junaluska works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Junaluska workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Junaluska | – | C | A | 14 min | $66,165 |
| Waynesville | 14% | C+ | A− | 20 min | $54,923 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Waynesville. Darker towns draw more of Lake Junaluska’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 Lake Junaluska: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Junaluska?
$66,165 (±$27,926) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Junaluska?
9.4%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Junaluska?
14 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 Lake Junaluska work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Asheville (15%, 24 mi), Waynesville (14%, 3 mi), Sylva (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lake Junaluska walkable?
Lake Junaluska is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Junaluska without a car?
0% 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 Lake Junaluska, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Junaluska
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.