Photo: rjones0856 from USA · CC BY 2.0North Topsail Beach’s household incomes are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
North Topsail Beach grades B for jobs and income and D for walkability. Below the poverty line: 6.5% of residents, against 13.0% across North Carolina. Home is the office for 43% of workers, next to 16% for North Carolina as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from North Topsail Beach
A lot of North Topsail Beach works from home
43% of North Topsail Beach workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
North Topsail Beach workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 77 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; with 279 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: North Topsail Beach’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, North Topsail Beach is better than 59% of U.S. towns. Household income holds North Topsail Beach’s grade up ($121,250, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (2.6%) is left out: North Topsail Beach’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, North Topsail Beach could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
A commute of about 35 minutes in North Topsail Beach
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Topsail Beach workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 214 commuters (the 43% 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.
Where in the region North Topsail Beach works
About 41% 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.
The daily flow of workers through North Topsail Beach
On a workday 262 residents head out to work, 17 work right here, and 155 people come in from elsewhere.
About 990 people are in North Topsail Beach on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.62 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 2024, primary jobs.
8% of working residents work in Surf City
Where North Topsail Beach clocks in
8% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
172 jobs are based in North Topsail Beach.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Topsail Beach, 2014 → 2024: 46 → 172. 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 North Topsail Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In North Topsail Beach, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Topsail Beach is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place North Topsail Beach 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 378 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). 0.5% of North Topsail Beach households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of North Topsail Beach’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, North Topsail Beach ranks 958th of 3,771 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Montreat NC | 1,024 | $116K | 0.0% | 9.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 235 | Advance NC | 1,408 | $115K | 5.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 956 | Buffalo Township PA | 1,251 | $83K | 7.7% | 6.2% | 2% | B |
| 957 | Wolf River WI | 1,226 | $76K | 5.1% | 0.0% | 2% | B |
| 958 | North Topsail Beach NC | 1,097 | $121K | 6.5% | 2.6% | 6% | B |
| 959 | Temple NH | 1,410 | $94K | 9.4% | 2.5% | 3% | B |
| 960 | Center Township OH | 1,067 | $89K | 4.0% | 0.5% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 North Topsail Beach, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Next door to North Topsail Beach
The biggest share goes to Surf City (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Topsail Beach workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Topsail Beach | – | B | D | 35 min | $121,250 |
| Sneads Ferry | under 2% | B− | D | 34 min | $79,594 |
| Surf City | 8% | B | B | 23 min | $81,433 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of North Topsail Beach’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 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 North Topsail Beach: questions
What is the median household income in North Topsail Beach?
$121,250 (±$15,655) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Topsail Beach?
6.5%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Topsail Beach?
35 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 43% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Topsail Beach work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Surf City (8%, 6 mi), Jacksonville (8%, 17 mi), Raleigh (6%, 115 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is North Topsail Beach walkable?
North Topsail Beach is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Topsail Beach without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Topsail Beach, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Topsail Beach
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.