There are 2.1 jobs in Waves for every working resident, and 94 people commute in
Only 2% work in Waves itself; outside it, Avon draws the most (15%, 16 miles). 95 jobs are based in Waves, against 46 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Waves
On a workday 45 residents head out to work and 1 work right here.
About 200 people are in Waves on a workday afternoon, 32% more than live here.
2.1 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.
Commuting in to Waves: where workers come from
Where Waves clocks in
9% 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 Waves: what the 95 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waves, 2013 → 2023: 73 → 95. 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 Waves’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Waves
About 33% 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.
How Waves compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waves workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waves | – | — | — | — | — |
| Rodanthe | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Salvo | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rodanthe and Salvo: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waves’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 Waves: questions
What is the poverty rate in Waves?
0.0%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Waves work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Avon (15%, 16 mi), Buxton (15%, 23 mi), Frisco (9%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waves, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waves
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.