James Bryant House · Photo: Cohee · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Seven Lakes (2.3%) than in 80% of U.S. towns
Seven Lakes grades B for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 6% stay in Seven Lakes for work; outside it, Pinehurst is the main destination (15%, 8 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 40 minutes, where North Carolina has 25 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Seven Lakes, in brief
Seven Lakes trades workers with the towns around it
Seven Lakes has about as many jobs (1,361) as working residents (1,418), but they are mostly different people: 1,335 residents leave for work each day while 1,278 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Seven Lakes are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Seven Lakes workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 115 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Where Seven Lakes’ Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Seven Lakes is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #97 of 290 in North Carolina. Unemployment holds Seven Lakes’ grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Seven Lakes could be anywhere from C to A.
The daily commute in and out of Seven Lakes
On a workday 1,335 residents head out to work, 83 work right here, and 1,278 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 40 minutes each way for Seven Lakes’ commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seven Lakes workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,425 commuters (the 15% 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.
Where in the region Seven Lakes works
About 37% 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.
Where the trip to work from Seven Lakes ends
Where Seven Lakes clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
Jobs in Seven Lakes: what the 1,361 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seven Lakes, 2013 → 2023: 1,041 → 1,361. 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 Seven Lakes’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Seven Lakes is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Seven Lakes is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #204 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 1,670 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). 1.9% of Seven Lakes households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Seven Lakes’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Seven Lakes ranks: 1,537th of 3,862 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 182 | Fairview NC | 3,805 | $99K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 279 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,535 | Potter Township PA | 3,637 | $75K | 5.1% | 2.9% | 8% | B |
| 1,536 | Goldstream AK | 3,294 | $104K | 4.7% | 3.7% | — | B |
| 1,537 | Seven Lakes NC | 4,535 | $91K | 8.8% | 2.3% | 6% | B |
| 1,538 | Lillington NC | 5,040 | $82K | 4.9% | 3.9% | 9% | B |
| 1,539 | Baden PA | 3,831 | $63K | 8.4% | 3.4% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Seven Lakes, 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 Seven Lakes: questions
What is the median household income in Seven Lakes?
$91,085 (±$12,586) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seven Lakes?
8.8%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seven Lakes?
40 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Seven Lakes work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pinehurst (15%, 8 mi), Southern Pines (9%, 11 mi), Raleigh (5%, 66 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Seven Lakes walkable?
Seven Lakes is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Seven Lakes 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 Seven Lakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seven Lakes
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.