Household incomes in Newport trail those of 79% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 10.7% of residents, next to 13.0% for North Carolina as a whole. Newport grades C− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 7% work in Newport; the top destination outside it is Morehead City (22%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Newport and work: the main findings
Newport has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Newport went from 741 in 2013 to 1,166 in 2023, +57%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Newport are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Newport gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Newport is better than 19% of U.S. towns, #228 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate holds Newport’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($56,351, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newport could be anywhere from D− to B+.
Goods, not services: 32% of the jobs in Newport
1,166 jobs are based in Newport.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newport, 2013 → 2023: 741 → 1,166. 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 Newport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 18 minutes to work from Newport
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newport workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,492 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Newport
About 30% 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.
Newport on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,593 residents head out to work, 120 work right here, and 1,046 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Newport on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.68 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 Newport goes to work
Where Newport clocks in
22% of workers
6% 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.
Driving is how Newport gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newport is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns, #219 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,694 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 Newport households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Newport’s commuters take a bus or train.
Newport next to U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100: 3,171st of 3,862 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 182 | Fairview NC | 3,805 | $99K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 279 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,169 | Red Oak IA | 5,388 | $50K | 21.9% | 2.9% | 33% | C− |
| 3,170 | Carmi IL | 4,623 | $48K | 21.8% | 2.7% | 30% | C− |
| 3,171 | Newport NC | 4,500 | $56K | 10.7% | 6.2% | 7% | C− |
| 3,172 | Sharpsville PA | 4,095 | $51K | 15.3% | 10.3% | 6% | C− |
| 3,173 | Burdine Township MO | 3,327 | $40K | 22.4% | 1.7% | 25% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | 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 Newport, 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 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 Newport: questions
What is the median household income in Newport?
$56,351 (±$17,077) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newport?
10.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newport?
18 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 Newport work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Morehead City (22%, 9 mi), Havelock (6%, 10 mi), Beaufort (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newport walkable?
Newport is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newport 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 Newport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newport
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.