Photo: Harrison Keely · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Swannanoa (14.8%) is among the highest in the country
Jobs & income C−: better than 21% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #220 of 290 in North Carolina.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns · #43 of 290 in North Carolina.
Household incomes here are lower than in 59% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26). Only 3% work in Swannanoa; the top destination outside it is Asheville (36%, 10 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.5 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.3 in Charlotte (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Swannanoa
Swannanoa and Asheville trade workers both ways
Asheville is the top workplace for Swannanoa residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Swannanoa come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Swannanoa has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Swannanoa went from 910 in 2013 to 1,392 in 2023, +53%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Swannanoa are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 25 across North Carolina. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Carolina 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.
What’s behind Swannanoa’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Swannanoa is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #220 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds Swannanoa’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (14.8%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Swannanoa could be anywhere from D to C+.
36% of working residents work in Asheville
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Swannanoa clocks in
10% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 1,392 jobs in Swannanoa are
1,392 jobs are based in Swannanoa. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Swannanoa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Swannanoa, 2013 → 2023: 910 → 1,392. 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.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of North Carolina
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Swannanoa workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,899 commuters (the 14% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,900 residents head out to work, 61 work right here, and 1,331 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.
0.71 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.
Half of Swannanoa commutes less than 10 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 21% 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.
Swannanoa is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Swannanoa is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #43 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place Swannanoa 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 2,201 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 10% 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 50% 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). 1.5% of Swannanoa households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Swannanoa’s commuters take a bus or train.
Swannanoa is 2,698th of 3,229 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Swannanoa, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Oak Ridge NC | 7,896 | $155K | 3.6% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 300 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 360 | Ogden NC | 8,249 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,696 | Niagara NY | 7,668 | $57K | 21.3% | 9.2% | 10% | C− |
| 2,697 | Pike Township OH | 6,719 | $59K | 21.1% | 4.3% | 25% | C− |
| 2,698 | Swannanoa NC | 6,901 | $70K | 16.8% | 14.8% | 3% | C− |
| 2,699 | Homestead Meadows North TX | 5,795 | $63K | 20.5% | 11.2% | 4% | C− |
| 2,700 | St. Robert MO | 5,602 | $63K | 19.2% | 4.3% | 15% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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.
10% of Swannanoa works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Black Mountain (10%). Darker towns draw more of Swannanoa’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Swannanoa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swannanoa | – | C− | A− | 19 min | $69,760 |
| Black Mountain | 10% | B | B+ | 21 min | $77,042 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Swannanoa: questions
What is the median household income in Swannanoa?
$69,760 (±$11,858) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Swannanoa?
16.8%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Swannanoa?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Swannanoa work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Asheville (36%, 10 mi), Black Mountain (10%, 4 mi), Charlotte (4%, 92 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Swannanoa walkable?
Swannanoa is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Swannanoa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Swannanoa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Swannanoa
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.