Photo: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Surf City (2.8%) than in 73% of U.S. towns
Surf City grades B for jobs and income and B for walkability. Home is the office for 27% of workers, against 16% across North Carolina. About one in seven work in Surf City itself; outside it, Wilmington draws the most (17%, 26 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Surf City, in a few figures
Jobs in Surf City have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Surf City went from 970 in 2013 to 2,030 in 2023, +109%. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Surf City
27% of Surf City workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Time on the road ↓
Surf City’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Surf City is Wilmington, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (271) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Many jobs in Surf City pay little
29% of the jobs based in Surf City pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 36% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Surf City
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Surf City is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #113 of 290 in North Carolina. The poverty rate holds Surf City’s grade up (5.5%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Surf City could be anywhere from C to A−.
What work there is in Surf City: 2,030 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Surf City, 2013 → 2023: 970 → 2,030. 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 Surf City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Surf City: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Surf City workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,663 commuters (the 27% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Surf City
About 32% 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.
A workday in Surf City: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,363 residents head out to work, 188 work right here, and 1,842 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 (1.31 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.
Commuting out of Surf City: the destinations
Where Surf City clocks in
17% of workers
3% 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.
Few in Surf City walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Surf City is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #79 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place Surf City near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,265 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). 2.4% of Surf City households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Surf City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,627 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900, Surf City comes 1,716th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 196 | Fairview NC | 3,805 | $99K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 295 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,714 | Barrett Township PA | 4,010 | $85K | 7.6% | 3.1% | 20% | B |
| 1,715 | Plainfield Township PA | 6,315 | $87K | 9.4% | 5.6% | 5% | B |
| 1,716 | Surf City NC | 5,142 | $81K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 12% | B |
| 1,717 | Northfield OH | 3,617 | $71K | 12.4% | 4.5% | 6% | B |
| 1,718 | Lafayette Township IL | 4,678 | $69K | 13.4% | 0.5% | 12% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | 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 Surf City, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
How Surf City compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Topsail Beach (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Surf City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf City | – | B | B | 23 min | $81,433 |
| Topsail Beach | 1% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| North Topsail Beach | under 2% | B | D | 35 min | $121,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Topsail Beach: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Surf City’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 Surf City: questions
What is the median household income in Surf City?
$81,433 (±$12,692) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Surf City?
5.5%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Surf City?
23 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Surf City work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilmington (17%, 26 mi), Hampstead (3%, 14 mi), Fayetteville (3%, 92 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Surf City walkable?
Surf City is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Surf City 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 Surf City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Surf City
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.