Photo: Leonard J. DeFrancisci · CC BY-SA 3.0There are 2.2 jobs in Pinehurst for every working resident, and 11,613 people commute in
13,022 jobs are based in Pinehurst for 5,902 working residents. Pinehurst grades B+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. Measured by household income, Pinehurst is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Pinehurst stands out on work
Pinehurst is where the jobs are
Pinehurst has 13,022 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Pinehurst is services
96% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 1% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Pinehurst draws workers from far and wide
The 13,022 jobs in Pinehurst are filled from a wide area. Pinehurst’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; the other 68% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Pinehurst has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Pinehurst went from 8,413 in 2013 to 13,022 in 2023, +55%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Where Pinehurst’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pinehurst is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #76 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate holds Pinehurst’s grade up (4.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pinehurst could be anywhere from B− to A.
Who leaves Pinehurst for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,493 residents head out to work and 1,409 work right here.
About 26,000 people are in Pinehurst on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
2.2 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.
In Pinehurst, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pinehurst, 2013 → 2023: 8,413 → 13,022. 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 Pinehurst’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Pinehurst’s workforce comes from
Where Pinehurst clocks in
14% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from Pinehurst: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pinehurst workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,795 commuters (the 23% 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 Pinehurst
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.
Few in Pinehurst walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pinehurst is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns, #201 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% of 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 6,240 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). 3.6% of Pinehurst households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pinehurst’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000, Pinehurst ranks 876th of 1,915 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Weddington NC | 14,517 | $191K | 4.0% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Harrisburg NC | 20,742 | $148K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 183 | Wendell NC | 19,687 | $96K | 3.2% | 1.3% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 874 | Fairview Park OH | 16,748 | $79K | 9.4% | 4.1% | 6% | B+ |
| 875 | El Sobrante CA | 16,294 | $115K | 11.4% | 5.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 876 | Pinehurst NC | 18,670 | $110K | 4.3% | 5.2% | 24% | B+ |
| 877 | Cudahy WI | 17,655 | $67K | 11.4% | 2.4% | 9% | B+ |
| 878 | Canfield Township OH | 16,694 | $101K | 5.4% | 6.5% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | 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 Pinehurst, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Next door is work for 19% of Pinehurst
The biggest share goes to Southern Pines (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pinehurst workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinehurst | – | B+ | C | 24 min | $109,802 |
| Southern Pines | 14% | B− | B− | 23 min | $88,535 |
| Taylortown | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Aberdeen | 5% | B− | B | 27 min | $75,078 |
Same-state neighbors only. Taylortown: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pinehurst’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 Pinehurst: questions
What is the median household income in Pinehurst?
$109,802 (±$8,940) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pinehurst?
4.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pinehurst?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pinehurst work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Southern Pines (14%, 4 mi), Aberdeen (5%, 4 mi), Fayetteville (4%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pinehurst walkable?
Pinehurst is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pinehurst without a car?
0% 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 Pinehurst, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pinehurst
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.