Andrews-Moore House · Photo: James McGlothlin · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Lake Royale (1.3%) is lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A−: better than 75% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #62 of 290 in North Carolina.
Walkability D: more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns · #271 of 290 in North Carolina.
Household incomes here are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 37 minutes each way (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26). Only 1% work in Lake Royale; the top destination outside it is Raleigh (25%, 27 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 Lake Royale
Lake Royale is a place people come home to
There are 91 jobs based in Lake Royale, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lake Royale has about 1,600 people in it, 51% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Lake Royale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Lake Royale’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lake Royale is Raleigh, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 25% of working residents (426) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
What’s behind Lake Royale’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Royale is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #62 of 290 in North Carolina. Unemployment holds Lake Royale’s grade up (1.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Royale could be anywhere from B− to A.
Lake Royale quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,684 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 68 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Lake Royale on a workday afternoon, 51% fewer than live here.
0.05 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.
About 37 minutes each way, longer 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 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Royale workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,625 commuters (the 6% 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 Lake Royale commutes less than 30 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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.
25% of working residents work in Raleigh
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Lake Royale clocks in
25% of workers
7% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Lake Royale makes things: 43% of its jobs are in goods
91 jobs are based in Lake Royale. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lake Royale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Royale, 2013 → 2023: 67 → 91. 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.
Most trips from Lake Royale start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Royale is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns, #271 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.0% 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 1,726 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). 2.8% of Lake Royale households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lake Royale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lake Royale is 1,035th of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Lake Royale, 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,033 | Elk Rapids Township MI | 2,647 | $83K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 18% | A− |
| 1,034 | Grasonville MD | 3,564 | $121K | 11.5% | 1.6% | 4% | A− |
| 1,035 | Lake Royale NC | 3,168 | $108K | 7.3% | 1.3% | 1% | A− |
| 1,036 | New Baden IL | 3,378 | $81K | 7.4% | 2.6% | 5% | A− |
| 1,037 | Moonachie NJ | 3,153 | $90K | 7.4% | 5.3% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 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.
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 Royale: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Royale?
$107,806 (±$32,807) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Royale?
7.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Royale?
37 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Royale work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (25%, 27 mi), Durham (7%, 40 mi), Cary (5%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lake Royale walkable?
Lake Royale is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Royale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Royale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Royale
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.