George and Neva Barbee House · Photo: Matheny.michelle · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Zebulon (7.1%) than in 83% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 33 minutes each way, where North Carolina has 25 and the U.S. 26. Zebulon grades B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 6% stay in Zebulon for work; outside it, Raleigh is the main destination (35%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Zebulon, in brief
Zebulon workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
One in three of Zebulon works in Raleigh
1,236 working residents, 35%, have their main job in Raleigh, 18 miles away. That’s 6 times as many as work in Zebulon itself. The commute map ↓
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.
The figures behind Zebulon’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Zebulon is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #137 of 290 in North Carolina. Job access by car holds Zebulon’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Zebulon could be anywhere from C to A.
Commuting from Zebulon: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Zebulon workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,349 commuters (the 22% 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.
Commuting out of Zebulon: the destinations
Where Zebulon clocks in
35% of workers
8% 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.
A workday in Zebulon: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,311 residents head out to work, 208 work right here, and 4,428 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 (1.32 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.
What Zebulon’s employers do
4,636 jobs are based in Zebulon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Zebulon, 2013 → 2023: 3,955 → 4,636. 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 Zebulon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Zebulon
About 15% 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 trips from Zebulon start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Zebulon is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns, #82 of 290 in North Carolina. Both inputs place Zebulon 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 4,304 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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). 7.7% of Zebulon households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Zebulon’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Zebulon ranks: 1,688th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Weddington NC | 14,517 | $191K | 4.0% | 1.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 293 | Rolesville NC | 12,839 | $150K | 1.1% | 3.7% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 372 | Summerfield NC | 11,327 | $160K | 7.1% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,686 | Canandaigua NY | 10,347 | $65K | 10.8% | 4.5% | 17% | B− |
| 1,687 | Healdsburg CA | 11,172 | $104K | 11.6% | 7.8% | 21% | B− |
| 1,688 | Zebulon NC | 11,933 | $79K | 9.0% | 7.1% | 6% | B− |
| 1,689 | Conover NC | 8,938 | $66K | 15.7% | 3.3% | 11% | B− |
| 1,690 | Seabrook NH | 8,430 | $84K | 12.1% | 6.9% | 17% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Zebulon, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
Around Zebulon: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Wendell (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Zebulon’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 Zebulon: questions
What is the median household income in Zebulon?
$79,112 (±$14,209) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Zebulon?
9.0%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Zebulon?
33 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Zebulon work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (35%, 18 mi), Durham (8%, 34 mi), Cary (5%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Zebulon walkable?
Zebulon is more walkable than 61% 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 Zebulon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Zebulon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Zebulon
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.