Thomas and Lois Wheless House · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Louisburg trail those of 97% of U.S. towns
6% of workers have no commute at all, where North Carolina as a whole has 16%. Poverty touches 34.1% of residents (North Carolina 13.0%). The two grades for Louisburg are D− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Louisburg stands out on work
Louisburg is where the jobs are
Louisburg has 3,158 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,400 people are in town, 54% more than the 3,500 who live here. Day and night ↓
Louisburg’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Louisburg is Raleigh, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (228) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Louisburg workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
The four measures behind Louisburg’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Louisburg is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #284 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds Louisburg’s grade up (ahead of 37% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (25.3%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Louisburg could be anywhere from D− to D.
The workday shuffle in and out of Louisburg
On a workday 1,154 residents head out to work, 132 work right here, and 3,026 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,400 people are in Louisburg on a workday afternoon, 54% more than live here.
2.5 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 2024, primary jobs.
Miles to work from Louisburg
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 31 minutes each way, longer than most of North Carolina
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Louisburg workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 738 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily trip into Louisburg
Where Louisburg clocks in
18% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Louisburg: what the 3,158 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Louisburg, 2014 → 2024: 3,168 → 3,158. 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 Louisburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Louisburg
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Louisburg is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #19 of 290 in North Carolina. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.9% across North Carolina, on an EPA index of 7.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 787 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). 31.5% of Louisburg households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Louisburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
Louisburg and other U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 132 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 198 | Fairview NC | 3,805 | $99K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,390 | Manatee Road FL | 2,426 | $52K | 19.9% | 6.7% | 2% | D− |
| 4,391 | Nicholls GA | 3,317 | $44K | 30.2% | 4.8% | 3% | D− |
| 4,392 | Louisburg NC | 3,480 | $38K | 34.1% | 25.3% | 10% | D− |
| 4,393 | Taylor Creek FL | 4,457 | $38K | 19.2% | 9.0% | 1% | D− |
| 4,394 | Dulce NM | 3,218 | $40K | 22.0% | 5.9% | 77% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Louisburg, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
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 Louisburg: questions
What is the median household income in Louisburg?
$38,036 (±$21,808) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Louisburg?
34.1%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Louisburg?
31 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 Louisburg work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (18%, 26 mi), Durham (5%, 34 mi), Wake Forest (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Louisburg walkable?
Louisburg is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Louisburg without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 32% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Louisburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Louisburg
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.