Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Newton (6.2%) is higher than in 76% of U.S. towns
6% of workers work from home (North Carolina 16%). For jobs and income Newton is better than 34% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (C+). About one in seven work in Newton; the top destination outside it is Hickory (20%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Newton, in a few figures
Newton draws workers from far and wide
The 9,681 jobs in Newton are filled from a wide area. Newton’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 69% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Newton is where the jobs are
Newton has 9,681 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A lot of Newton works one town over
28% of working residents work in a town that borders Newton: Hickory (20%) and Conover (8%). Next door ↓
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.
The four measures behind Newton’s grade
Job access by car holds Newton’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newton could be anywhere from C− to B.
Who travels to work in Newton, and from where
Where Newton clocks in
20% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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 workday in Newton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 5,011 residents head out to work, 707 work right here, and 8,974 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Newton on a workday afternoon, 29% more than live here.
1.7 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.
What work there is in Newton: 9,681 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newton, 2013 → 2023: 7,875 → 9,681. 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 Newton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Newton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newton workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,439 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 distance from Newton to work
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.
For most of Newton, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,761 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). 4.1% of Newton households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Newton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Newton is 1,695th of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Weddington NC | 14,517 | $191K | 4.0% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 250 | Rolesville NC | 12,839 | $150K | 1.1% | 3.7% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 320 | Summerfield NC | 11,327 | $160K | 7.1% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,693 | Spanish Lake MO | 17,873 | $56K | 14.8% | 7.2% | 2% | C |
| 1,694 | Marshall MN | 14,171 | $69K | 16.9% | 3.7% | 66% | C |
| 1,695 | Newton NC | 13,822 | $62K | 12.0% | 6.2% | 12% | C |
| 1,696 | Shelton WA | 10,921 | $70K | 17.4% | 3.8% | 17% | C |
| 1,697 | Marinette WI | 11,168 | $59K | 11.8% | 3.8% | 46% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Newton, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Bordering towns draw 28% of Newton’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Hickory. Darker towns draw more of Newton’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 Newton: questions
What is the median household income in Newton?
$62,015 (±$5,625) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newton?
12.0%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newton?
22 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 Newton work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hickory (20%, 7 mi), Conover (8%, 4 mi), Charlotte (8%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newton walkable?
Newton is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newton
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.