Photo: Gerry Dincher · CC BY-SA 2.0Pittsboro has lower unemployment (1.1%) than 94% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Pittsboro itself; outside it, Raleigh draws the most (14%, 30 miles). Jobs and income earn Pittsboro B; getting around on foot earns it C+. The average commute takes 31 minutes each way (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Pittsboro apart
Pittsboro’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pittsboro is Raleigh, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (324) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Pittsboro workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 46 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Pittsboro’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pittsboro is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #91 of 290 in North Carolina. Unemployment holds Pittsboro’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (11.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pittsboro could be anywhere from C to A.
Half of Pittsboro commutes less than 21 miles
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.
A commute of about 31 minutes in Pittsboro
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pittsboro workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,072 commuters (the 19% 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.
How a workday changes Pittsboro
On a workday 2,146 residents head out to work, 216 work right here, and 2,885 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,800 people are in Pittsboro on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 per resident).
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 Pittsboro goes to work
Where Pittsboro clocks in
14% of workers
12% of workers
11% 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 3,101 jobs based in Pittsboro
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pittsboro, 2013 → 2023: 2,697 → 3,101. 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 Pittsboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Pittsboro is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pittsboro is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #175 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 2,560 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). 7.1% of Pittsboro households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Pittsboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pittsboro places 1,487th of 3,758 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800
| # | 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 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Fairview NC | 3,805 | $99K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 294 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,485 | Eaton CO | 5,848 | $106K | 9.6% | 4.5% | 9% | B |
| 1,486 | North Wildwood NJ | 3,518 | $91K | 4.7% | 4.3% | 13% | B |
| 1,487 | Pittsboro NC | 5,054 | $82K | 11.7% | 1.1% | 9% | B |
| 1,488 | Woodland WA | 6,611 | $81K | 12.9% | 1.9% | 15% | B |
| 1,489 | Gaines Township MI | 6,610 | $84K | 4.7% | 5.6% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | 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 Pittsboro, 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 Pittsboro: questions
What is the median household income in Pittsboro?
$81,639 (±$52,224) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pittsboro?
11.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pittsboro?
31 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pittsboro work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (14%, 30 mi), Chapel Hill (12%, 16 mi), Durham (11%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pittsboro walkable?
Pittsboro is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pittsboro without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pittsboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pittsboro
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.