Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0Ruth has 2.6 jobs for every working resident: 367 people commute in to work
371 jobs are based in Ruth, against 140 working residents. Only 3% work in Ruth; the top destination outside it is Forest City (16%, 5 miles). Home is the office for 1% of workers; North Carolina has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How many people are in Ruth by day
On a workday 136 residents head out to work and 4 work right here.
About 580 people are in Ruth on a workday afternoon, 67% more than live here.
2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Ruth: where workers come from
Where Ruth clocks in
16% of workers
13% of workers
6% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 87% of the jobs in Ruth
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ruth, 2013 → 2023: 65 → 371. 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 Ruth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Ruth
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ruth workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 195 commuters (the 1% 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.
The distance from Ruth to work
About 24% 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.
Work next door: 13% of Ruth’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ruth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruth | – | — | — | 25 min | $51,250 |
| Rutherfordton | 13% | C− | C | 22 min | $59,375 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rutherfordton. Darker towns draw more of Ruth’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 Ruth: questions
What is the median household income in Ruth?
$51,250 (±$20,253) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ruth?
35.7%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ruth?
25 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ruth work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Forest City (16%, 5 mi), Rutherfordton (13%, 2 mi), Charlotte (6%, 64 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ruth without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ruth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ruth
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.