Photo: Mkrpowers · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Rolesville are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
28% of workers have no commute at all; North Carolina has 16%. Poverty touches 1.1% of residents (North Carolina 13.0%). Rolesville grades A 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
Work in Rolesville, in a few figures
Rolesville has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Rolesville went from 855 in 2013 to 1,689 in 2023, +98%. The jobs ↓
Rolesville and Raleigh trade workers both ways
Raleigh is the top workplace for Rolesville residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Rolesville come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A lot of Rolesville works from home
28% of Rolesville workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Rolesville
69% of Rolesville residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 44% of the jobs based in Rolesville pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Rolesville workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 54 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Rolesville’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rolesville is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #12 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rolesville could be anywhere from A− to A+.
What work there is in Rolesville: 1,689 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rolesville, 2013 → 2023: 855 → 1,689. 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 Rolesville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
36% of working residents work in Raleigh
Where Rolesville clocks in
36% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
Time on the road from Rolesville: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rolesville workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,871 commuters (the 28% 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.
Rolesville quiets down on a workday
On a workday 4,843 residents head out to work, 152 work right here, and 1,537 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,500 people are in Rolesville on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.34 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Rolesville
About 15% 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.
For most of Rolesville, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rolesville is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns, #181 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 5,366 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.3% of Rolesville households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rolesville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rolesville next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000: 258th of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Weddington NC | 14,517 | $191K | 4.0% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 256 | Castle Pines CO | 15,583 | $191K | 6.9% | 2.6% | 4% | A |
| 257 | Grosse Pointe Park MI | 11,095 | $124K | 4.9% | 3.3% | 4% | A |
| 258 | Rolesville NC | 12,839 | $150K | 1.1% | 3.7% | 3% | A |
| 259 | Woodway TX | 9,753 | $115K | 3.8% | 2.5% | 5% | A |
| 260 | Norfolk MA | 12,096 | $201K | 2.2% | 4.6% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 331 | Summerfield NC | 11,327 | $160K | 7.1% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 363 | Lake Norman of Iredell NC | 12,494 | $174K | 2.5% | 3.1% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | 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 Rolesville, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
The towns around Rolesville
The biggest share goes to Wake Forest (7%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rolesville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolesville | – | A | C | 32 min | $149,565 |
| Wake Forest | 7% | A | B | 31 min | $123,802 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rolesville’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 Rolesville: questions
What is the median household income in Rolesville?
$149,565 (±$18,991) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rolesville?
1.1%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rolesville?
32 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rolesville work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (36%, 12 mi), Durham (10%, 25 mi), Wake Forest (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rolesville walkable?
Rolesville is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rolesville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rolesville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rolesville
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.