Pine Level has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B−: better than 53% of U.S. towns on income, poverty and job access.
Walkability C: more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns.
Household incomes here are lower than in 50% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 21 minutes each way (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26). Only 4% work in Pine Level; the top destination outside it is Smithfield (16%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Pine Level
Pine Level has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Pine Level went from 312 in 2013 to 506 in 2023, +62%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Pine Level
55% of Pine Level residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 31% of the jobs based in Pine Level pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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; with 820 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Pine Level’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Pine Level is better than 53% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Pine Level’s grade up (8.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 45% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.8%) is left out: Pine Level’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Pine Level could be anywhere from C to A−.
What the 506 jobs in Pine Level are
506 jobs are based in Pine Level. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pine Level’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pine Level, 2013 → 2023: 312 → 506. 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.
Pine Level quiets down on a workday
On a workday 784 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 470 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Pine Level on a workday afternoon, 13% 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 2023, primary jobs.
16% of working residents work in Smithfield
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Pine Level clocks in
15% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 21 minutes each way, quicker than most of North Carolina
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pine Level workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 814 commuters (the 5% 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.
Half of Pine Level commutes less than 24 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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.
Most trips from Pine Level start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pine Level is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.9% across North Carolina, on an EPA index of 5.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 859 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). 2.0% of Pine Level households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pine Level’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pine Level is 2,033rd of 4,995 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Pine Level, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 158 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,031 | Orland ME | 2,224 | $69K | 7.1% | 1.9% | 7% | B− |
| 2,032 | Martin Township MI | 2,721 | $72K | 7.4% | 5.8% | 8% | B− |
| 2,033 | Pine Level NC | 2,405 | $75K | 8.0% | 3.8% | 4% | B− |
| 2,034 | Carmel ME | 3,031 | $82K | 13.6% | 1.9% | 6% | B− |
| 2,035 | Western NY | 1,822 | $89K | 7.0% | 2.6% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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.
Pine Level and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Selma (4%). Darker towns draw more of Pine Level’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pine Level workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Level | – | B− | C | 21 min | $75,263 |
| Selma | 4% | C− | C+ | 32 min | $41,368 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Pine Level: questions
What is the median household income in Pine Level?
$75,263 (±$25,250) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pine Level?
8.0%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pine Level?
21 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pine Level work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Smithfield (16%, 5 mi), Raleigh (15%, 31 mi), Selma (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pine Level walkable?
Pine Level is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pine Level without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pine Level, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pine Level
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.