Princeton Graded School · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Princeton earn less than those in 92% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 6% of workers, where North Carolina as a whole has 16%. 9.7% of residents live below the poverty line (North Carolina 13.0%). Princeton grades C for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Princeton apart
Fewer jobs are based in Princeton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Princeton fell from 436 in 2013 to 285 in 2023, −35%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Princeton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 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; with 649 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Princeton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Princeton is better than 27% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Princeton’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($45,500, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (2.7%) is left out: Princeton’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, Princeton could be anywhere from C− to B.
The 285 jobs based in Princeton
285 jobs are based in Princeton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 436 → 285. 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 Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes each way for Princeton’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Princeton workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 631 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.
How a workday changes Princeton
On a workday 640 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 276 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Princeton on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.44 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.
13% of working residents work in Smithfield
Where Princeton clocks in
13% 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.
Miles to work from Princeton
About 21% 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.
Most of Princeton commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Princeton is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 669 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). 7.2% of Princeton households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Princeton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Princeton is 3,576th of 5,794 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,100 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 296 | Northlakes NC | 1,716 | $101K | 2.0% | 1.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,574 | Bellevue MI | 1,348 | $64K | 16.1% | 4.9% | 4% | C |
| 3,575 | Paris MO | 1,178 | $63K | 8.0% | 3.8% | 14% | C |
| 3,576 | Princeton NC | 1,544 | $46K | 9.7% | 2.7% | 1% | C |
| 3,577 | Washburn ND | 1,254 | $73K | 10.7% | 0.5% | 12% | C |
| 3,578 | Deercreek Township OH | 1,676 | $65K | 12.3% | 2.8% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,794 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Princeton, 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 Princeton: questions
What is the median household income in Princeton?
$45,500 (±$25,915) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Princeton?
9.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Princeton?
30 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 Princeton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Smithfield (13%, 11 mi), Raleigh (13%, 37 mi), Goldsboro (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Princeton walkable?
Princeton is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Princeton without a car?
0% 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 Princeton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Princeton
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.