With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Pumpkin Center works elsewhere
147 jobs are based in Pumpkin Center; 616 of its residents have a job. Household incomes here are lower than in 67% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is 2.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Pumpkin Center stands out on work
42% of Pumpkin Center works in Jacksonville
256 working residents, 42%, have their main job in Jacksonville, 4.2 miles away across the town line. That’s far more as work in Pumpkin Center itself. The commute map ↓
Pumpkin Center is a place people come home to
There are 147 jobs based in Pumpkin Center, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Pumpkin Center has about 1,200 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Pumpkin Center’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 33 minutes, longer than the North Carolina average of 25. 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 616 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Pumpkin Center’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Pumpkin Center is better than 60% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Pumpkin Center’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($64,102, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (8.6%) is left out: Pumpkin Center’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, Pumpkin Center could be anywhere from C to A−.
42% of working residents work in Jacksonville
Where Pumpkin Center clocks in
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 daily commute in and out of Pumpkin Center
On a workday 616 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 147 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Pumpkin Center on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A commute of about 33 minutes in Pumpkin Center
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pumpkin Center workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 513 commuters (the 12% 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.
Goods, not services: 60% of the jobs in Pumpkin Center
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pumpkin Center, 2013 → 2023: 108 → 147. 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 Pumpkin Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Pumpkin Center, by distance
About 31% 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.
Driving is how Pumpkin Center gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pumpkin Center is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 584 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). 0.0% of Pumpkin Center households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pumpkin Center’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Pumpkin Center is 1,661st of 6,161 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 100 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 315 | Northlakes NC | 1,716 | $101K | 2.0% | 1.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,659 | Jackson Township OH | 1,756 | $82K | 0.0% | 2.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,660 | La Villita NM | 1,534 | $104K | 4.7% | 0.0% | 0% | B |
| 1,661 | Pumpkin Center NC | 1,636 | $64K | 2.9% | 8.6% | 0% | B |
| 1,662 | Grant Park IL | 1,271 | $78K | 9.0% | 8.6% | 7% | B |
| 1,663 | Seneca KS | 2,139 | $77K | 8.0% | 0.9% | 43% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | 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 Pumpkin Center, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Work next door: 42% of Pumpkin Center’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pumpkin Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin Center | – | B | D | 33 min | $64,102 |
| Jacksonville | 42% | C− | A− | 15 min | $57,697 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Jacksonville. Darker towns draw more of Pumpkin Center’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 Pumpkin Center: questions
What is the median household income in Pumpkin Center?
$64,102 (±$23,179) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pumpkin Center?
2.9%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pumpkin Center?
33 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pumpkin Center work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jacksonville (42%, 4 mi), Raleigh (5%, 102 mi), Charlotte (4%, 198 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pumpkin Center walkable?
Pumpkin Center is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pumpkin Center 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 Pumpkin Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pumpkin Center
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.