Counties with the best commutes in North Carolina

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April 6, 2023
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Counties with the best commutes in North Carolina

Stacker compiled a list of the counties with the best commutes in North Carolina using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the shortest average travel time to work, with ties broken by lowest percent of residents that commute over 60 minutes, and any further ties broken by lowest percent of residents that work outside the county of residence.

#50. Rutherford County

- Mean travel time to work: 25.2
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 9.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 19.9%

#49. Alamance County

- Mean travel time to work: 25.2
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.5%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 34.6%

#48. Ashe County

- Mean travel time to work: 25.1
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.5%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 21.6%

#47. Vance County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.9
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 10.7%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 37.2%

#46. Alleghany County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.9
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 10.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 17.7%

#45. Brunswick County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.2%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 30.7%

#44. Graham County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.6
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 13.6%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 24.1%

#43. Martin County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.6
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.3%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 46.3%

#42. Cleveland County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 7.0%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 28.0%

#41. Richmond County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 27.2%

#40. Davidson County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.2%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 50.1%

#39. Robeson County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.4
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 7.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 23.5%

#38. Alexander County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.4
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.4%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 52.8%

#37. Montgomery County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.3
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 7.2%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 35.1%

#36. Carteret County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.0
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.5%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 25.5%

#35. McDowell County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.0
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.6%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 25.8%

#34. Randolph County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.0
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.5%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 40.6%

#33. Orange County

- Mean travel time to work: 24.0
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.4%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 36.9%

#32. Pamlico County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.8
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.2%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 42.8%

#31. Clay County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.3%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 22.4%

#30. Halifax County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.6
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 8.4%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 24.9%

#29. Beaufort County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 8.9%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 26.9%

#28. Lenoir County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.4
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 7.8%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 26.8%

#27. Nash County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.4
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.0%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 33.1%

#26. Scotland County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.3
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.5%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 32.7%

#25. Mitchell County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.2
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 8.4%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 33.3%

#24. Dare County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.0
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 8.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 5.4%

#23. Burke County

- Mean travel time to work: 23.0
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.8%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 35.1%

#22. Edgecombe County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.8
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.3%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 47.3%

#21. Durham County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.2%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 29.6%

#20. Haywood County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.6
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 3.6%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 30.1%

#19. Transylvania County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 21.7%

#18. Forsyth County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.5%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 22.5%

#17. Guilford County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.4
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.7%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 16.0%

#16. Wilson County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.2
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 7.2%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 27.0%

#15. Catawba County

- Mean travel time to work: 22.2
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 6.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 20.8%

#14. Henderson County

- Mean travel time to work: 21.9
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.0%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 30.6%

#13. Wayne County

- Mean travel time to work: 21.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.8%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 23.0%

#12. Macon County

- Mean travel time to work: 21.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 12.0%

#11. Onslow County

- Mean travel time to work: 21.6
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.6%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 9.6%

#10. Cumberland County

- Mean travel time to work: 21.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.5%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 10.7%

#9. Pitt County

- Mean travel time to work: 21.1
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.4%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 12.9%

#8. Craven County

- Mean travel time to work: 20.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.4%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 18.6%

#7. Watauga County

- Mean travel time to work: 20.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.0%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 10.5%

#6. Avery County

- Mean travel time to work: 20.4
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 19.6%

#5. Buncombe County

- Mean travel time to work: 20.4
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 2.8%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 8.5%

#4. New Hanover County

- Mean travel time to work: 20.3
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.2%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 7.8%

#3. Hyde County

- Mean travel time to work: 19.8
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 9.4%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 24.2%

#2. Swain County

- Mean travel time to work: 19.7
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 4.3%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 30.0%

#1. Jackson County

- Mean travel time to work: 19.5
- Workers with 60+ minute commute: 5.1%
- Worked outside of county of residence: 20.9%

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