Whispering Pines has higher household incomes than 91% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Whispering Pines A−; getting around on foot earns it C−. 5.3% of residents are in poverty, next to 13.0% for North Carolina as a whole. The trip to work takes 29 minutes on average, where North Carolina has 25 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Whispering Pines in brief
Whispering Pines is a place people come home to
There are 377 jobs based in Whispering Pines, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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.
Why Whispering Pines gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Whispering Pines is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #55 of 290 in North Carolina. Household income holds Whispering Pines’ grade up ($126,450, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 38% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Whispering Pines could be anywhere from B− to A.
The daily commute in and out of Whispering Pines
On a workday 1,509 residents head out to work, 40 work right here, and 337 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Whispering Pines on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.24 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.
Whispering Pines’ commute, mile by mile
About 31% 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.
15% of working residents work in Southern Pines
Where Whispering Pines clocks in
15% of workers
15% of workers
6% 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 kinds of work in Whispering Pines
377 jobs are based in Whispering Pines.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whispering Pines, 2013 → 2023: 295 → 377. 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 Whispering Pines’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Whispering Pines spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whispering Pines workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,801 commuters (the 17% 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.
The commute in Whispering Pines is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Whispering Pines is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns, #243 of 290 in North Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 2,178 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). 0.0% of Whispering Pines households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Whispering Pines’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Whispering Pines ranks: 880th of 3,432 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,400
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 278 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 379 | Stokesdale NC | 6,133 | $121K | 5.6% | 1.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 429 | Royal Pines NC | 4,325 | $108K | 1.5% | 3.2% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 878 | Baughman Township OH | 4,759 | $77K | 5.8% | 2.8% | 14% | A− |
| 879 | Salem Township PA | 6,006 | $80K | 6.5% | 2.1% | 8% | A− |
| 880 | Whispering Pines NC | 5,505 | $126K | 5.3% | 3.3% | 3% | A− |
| 881 | Coldwater OH | 4,716 | $68K | 2.4% | 0.5% | 25% | A− |
| 882 | Sultan WA | 7,230 | $95K | 5.8% | 1.0% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | 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 Whispering Pines, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Whispering Pines and its neighbors: 15% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Whispering Pines workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whispering Pines | – | A− | C− | 29 min | $126,450 |
| Southern Pines | 15% | B− | B− | 23 min | $88,535 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Southern Pines. Darker towns draw more of Whispering Pines’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 Whispering Pines: questions
What is the median household income in Whispering Pines?
$126,450 (±$21,571) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whispering Pines?
5.3%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whispering Pines?
29 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whispering Pines work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Southern Pines (15%, 4 mi), Pinehurst (15%, 7 mi), Fayetteville (6%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Whispering Pines walkable?
Whispering Pines is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Whispering Pines without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whispering Pines, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whispering Pines
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.