Photo: Chrishash1991 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Sparta are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Sparta itself; outside it, Charlotte draws the most (5%, 91 miles). 21.5% of residents live below the poverty line; North Carolina has 13.0%. Jobs and income earn Sparta D−; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Sparta apart on work
Sparta is where the jobs are
Sparta has 1,571 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 2,900 people are in town, 49% more than the 1,900 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Sparta are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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; with 623 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Sparta
On income, poverty and job access, Sparta is better than 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Sparta’s grade.
Unemployment (2.7%) is left out: Sparta’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Sparta could be anywhere from D− to D.
Sparta fills up on a workday
On a workday 455 residents head out to work, 168 work right here, and 1,403 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Sparta on a workday afternoon, 49% more than live here.
2.5 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.
Sparta’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sparta workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 522 commuters (the 24% 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.
How far it is to work from Sparta
About 34% 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.
The daily trip into Sparta
Where Sparta clocks in
5% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
What the 1,571 jobs in Sparta are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sparta, 2013 → 2023: 1,294 → 1,571. 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 Sparta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Sparta commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sparta is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 684 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). 20.7% of Sparta households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sparta’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600, and where Sparta sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Biltmore Forest NC | 1,469 | $169K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 169 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,648 | Monticello MS | 1,378 | $34K | 25.4% | 9.8% | 14% | D− |
| 5,649 | Noel MO | 2,181 | $41K | 27.2% | 8.6% | 31% | D− |
| 5,650 | Sparta NC | 1,918 | $42K | 21.5% | 2.7% | 27% | D− |
| 5,651 | Kirbyville TX | 2,031 | $43K | 23.7% | 10.5% | 19% | D− |
| 5,652 | Posey Township IN | 1,616 | $51K | 25.1% | 9.7% | 3% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | 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 Sparta, 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 Sparta: questions
What is the median household income in Sparta?
$42,454 (±$9,194) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sparta?
21.5%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sparta?
15 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sparta work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charlotte (5%, 91 mi), Elkin (2%, 22 mi), Galax (2%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sparta walkable?
Sparta is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sparta without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sparta, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sparta
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.