Photo: Rysnap1024 · CC BY-SA 4.0Wake Forest’s household incomes are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
For 29% of workers, the job is at home, where North Carolina as a whole has 16%. 4.5% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.0% across North Carolina. The two grades for Wake Forest are A for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Wake Forest
Wake Forest has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Wake Forest went from 8,771 in 2013 to 16,792 in 2023, +91%. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Wake Forest
29% of Wake Forest workers work from home, against 16% across North Carolina. Time on the road ↓
Wake Forest and Raleigh trade workers both ways
Raleigh is the top workplace for Wake Forest residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Wake Forest come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Wake Forest
68% of Wake Forest residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Wake Forest pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Wake Forest workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical 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.
The figures behind Wake Forest’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wake Forest is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #31 of 290 in North Carolina. Household income is its strongest input ($123,802, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wake Forest could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Inside Wake Forest’s 16,792 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wake Forest, 2013 → 2023: 8,771 → 16,792. 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 Wake Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 31 minutes from Wake Forest
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wake Forest workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 19,228 commuters (the 29% 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.
34% of working residents work in Raleigh
Where Wake Forest clocks in
34% of workers
10% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Wake Forest
On a workday 20,854 residents head out to work, 2,170 work right here, and 14,622 people come in from elsewhere.
About 52,000 people are in Wake Forest on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.73 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.
Where in the region Wake Forest works
About 16% 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.
Most of Wake Forest commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wake Forest is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #74 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 26,963 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 38% 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 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% 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). 3.2% of Wake Forest households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Wake Forest’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 41,000 to 78,000, Wake Forest ranks 164th of 738 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Huntersville NC | 68,535 | $121K | 3.1% | 3.2% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Chapel Hill NC | 63,565 | $86K | 18.6% | 4.5% | 27% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Holly Springs NC | 50,288 | $136K | 4.8% | 3.4% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 162 | Grove City OH | 45,180 | $93K | 6.4% | 3.0% | 11% | A |
| 163 | Bountiful UT | 44,988 | $105K | 6.9% | 3.1% | 9% | A |
| 164 | Wake Forest NC | 58,147 | $124K | 4.5% | 4.0% | 9% | A |
| 165 | Teaneck Township NJ | 43,329 | $144K | 5.6% | 5.7% | 7% | A |
| 166 | Orangetown NY | 50,377 | $145K | 6.3% | 5.2% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 738 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Wake Forest, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
34% of Wake Forest works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wake Forest workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | – | A | B | 31 min | $123,802 |
| Rolesville | under 1% | A | C | 32 min | $149,565 |
| Raleigh | 34% | B | A | 23 min | $85,395 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Raleigh. Darker towns draw more of Wake Forest’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 Wake Forest: questions
What is the median household income in Wake Forest?
$123,802 (±$6,456) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wake Forest?
4.5%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wake Forest?
31 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wake Forest work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (34%, 12 mi), Durham (10%, 22 mi), Cary (5%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wake Forest walkable?
Wake Forest is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wake Forest without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wake Forest, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wake Forest
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.