Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0Households in Mills River earn more than those in 81% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Mills River are A for jobs and income and C− for walkability. 2.6% of residents are in poverty, next to 13.0% for North Carolina as a whole. About one in ten stay in Mills River for work; outside it, Asheville is the main destination (24%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Mills River apart on work
Jobs in Mills River have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Mills River went from 1,718 in 2013 to 4,611 in 2023, +168%. The jobs ↓
Mills River makes and builds things
47% of the jobs based in Mills River are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Mills River residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
Mills River is where the jobs are
Mills River has 4,611 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Mills River and Asheville trade workers both ways
Asheville is the top workplace for Mills River residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Mills River come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Mills River
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mills River is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #28 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mills River could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Factories, building and farms: 47% of the jobs in Mills River
4,611 jobs are based in Mills River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mills River, 2013 → 2023: 1,718 → 4,611. 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 Mills River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Mills River
On a workday 2,784 residents head out to work, 273 work right here, and 4,338 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,100 people are in Mills River on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
1.5 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where Mills River’s workforce comes from
Where Mills River clocks in
9% 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.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Mills River
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mills River workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,162 commuters (the 12% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Mills River
About 18% 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.
Most of Mills River commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mills River is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #258 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place Mills River 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 3,573 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). 0.6% of Mills River households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mills River’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Mills River ranks: 500th of 3,027 U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 191 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 362 | Ogden NC | 8,249 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 404 | Stokesdale NC | 6,133 | $121K | 5.6% | 1.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 498 | New Hartford CT | 6,748 | $110K | 2.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| 499 | Pleasant Township OH | 6,589 | $90K | 3.6% | 3.4% | 2% | A |
| 500 | Mills River NC | 7,504 | $105K | 2.6% | 2.8% | 9% | A |
| 501 | Middlebury CT | 8,093 | $133K | 5.8% | 4.0% | 10% | A |
| 502 | Merrimac MA | 6,818 | $123K | 9.4% | 1.5% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,027 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Mills River, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
28% of Mills River works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mills River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mills River | – | A | C− | 21 min | $105,398 |
| Etowah | 1% | B− | D | 26 min | $72,596 |
| Horse Shoe | under 2% | B | C− | 23 min | $64,096 |
| Fletcher | 3% | B+ | C+ | 24 min | $75,272 |
| Asheville | 24% | B− | A | 18 min | $71,102 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Asheville. Darker towns draw more of Mills River’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 Mills River: questions
What is the median household income in Mills River?
$105,398 (±$13,380) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mills River?
2.6%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mills River?
21 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mills River work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Asheville (24%, 13 mi), Hendersonville (9%, 8 mi), Charlotte (4%, 100 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mills River walkable?
Mills River is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mills River without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mills River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mills River
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.