River Bend has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in River Bend report 379 jobs for 987 working residents. The two grades for River Bend are B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Home is the office for 3% of workers, against 16% across North Carolina.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in River Bend, in a few figures
River Bend and New Bern trade workers both ways
New Bern is the top workplace for River Bend residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in River Bend come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from River Bend are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
Few River Bend workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 987 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside River Bend’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, River Bend is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #141 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate holds River Bend’s grade up (8.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 37% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, River Bend could be anywhere from C− to A−.
36% of working residents work in New Bern
Where River Bend clocks in
36% of workers
5% 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.
River Bend’s commute takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of River Bend workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,130 commuters (the 3% 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.
Who commutes out of River Bend, and who commutes in
On a workday 938 residents head out to work, 49 work right here, and 330 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in River Bend on a workday afternoon, 21% 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.
In River Bend, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in River Bend, 2013 → 2023: 381 → 379. 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 River Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of River Bend commutes less than 9 miles
About 26% 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 River Bend walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, River Bend is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns, #277 of 290 in North Carolina. 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 1,161 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). 1.6% of River Bend households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of River Bend’s commuters take a bus or train.
River Bend places 2,480th of 4,882 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,478 | Yellowhead Township IL | 2,549 | $95K | 9.5% | 9.4% | 7% | B− |
| 2,479 | Middletown NY | 3,250 | $78K | 11.8% | 0.9% | 35% | B− |
| 2,480 | River Bend NC | 2,890 | $72K | 8.2% | 4.3% | 5% | B− |
| 2,481 | Juneau WI | 2,706 | $78K | 13.1% | 4.6% | 12% | B− |
| 2,482 | Stockport NY | 2,562 | $99K | 7.1% | 6.4% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,882 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 River Bend, 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 River Bend: questions
What is the median household income in River Bend?
$71,824 (±$13,345) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in River Bend?
8.2%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from River Bend?
17 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in River Bend work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Bern (36%, 5 mi), Raleigh (5%, 99 mi), Jacksonville (3%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is River Bend walkable?
River Bend is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around River Bend 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 River Bend, from the people who make the trip.
More of River Bend
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.