Counties with the most super commuters in North Carolina
Counties with the most super commuters in North Carolina
There are more than 281 million vehicles on the road in the United States, and many of those cars, trucks, vans, and motorcycles are used to ferry people to and from their homes and jobs during their daily commutes. A small but growing number of people are walking and biking to work, particularly in compact college towns. Many more take public transportation, especially in major cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, and Seattle—but nationwide, public transit accounts for only about 5% of daily commutes.
The overwhelming majority of people still drive to and from work every day, and the vast majority of those car commuters drive alone—fewer than 10% of Americans carpool. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average one-way commute in the United States has grown to a record 27.1 minutes. That’s just shy of an hour a day that average Americans squander behind the wheel, not at home with their families, and instead, burning gas and putting miles on their cars.
For some Americans, however, the commute to work is far from average. A phenomenon known as super commuting has emerged and grown in recent years. Super commuters spend 90 minutes or more—each way—chasing their paychecks every day. The biggest percentage of super commuters work in the extraction industry, with workers pursuing lucrative jobs in remote mines, oil fields, and other energy operations. Many more, however, have been priced out of expensive housing in urban metro areas where high-paying jobs are located, far away from their less-expensive county of residence.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most super commuters in North Carolina using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by highest percent of workers with a commute over 90 minutes, based on 2019 5-year estimates. Keep reading to see where in your state people are spending the most time going to and from work every day.
#30. Columbus County
--- #1,064 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 42.2% more common than state average
--- 0.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27 minutes
--- #868 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 8.9% longer than state average
--- 2.2% shorter than national average

#29. Madison County
--- #1,061 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 42.6% more common than state average
--- 0.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.7 minutes
--- #606 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 15.7% longer than state average
--- 4.0% longer than national average

#28. Dare County
--- #1,050 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 43.6% more common than state average
--- 1.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.1 minutes
--- #2,114 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.9% shorter than state average
--- 23.6% shorter than national average
#27. Scotland County
--- #1,032 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 45.6% more common than state average
--- 2.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.2 minutes
--- #1,674 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.5% shorter than state average
--- 15.9% shorter than national average
#26. Jones County
--- #1,017 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 46.4% more common than state average
--- 3.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.4 minutes
--- #507 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 18.5% longer than state average
--- 6.5% longer than national average

#25. Caldwell County
--- #1,007 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 47.0% more common than state average
--- 3.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25 minutes
--- #1,241 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 0.8% longer than state average
--- 9.4% shorter than national average
#24. Halifax County
--- #922 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 55.8% more common than state average
--- 9.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.8 minutes
--- #1,539 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.0% shorter than state average
--- 13.8% shorter than national average
#23. Pender County
--- #913 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 56.5% more common than state average
--- 10.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.4 minutes
--- #406 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 22.6% longer than state average
--- 10.1% longer than national average
#22. Lenoir County
--- #904 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 58.1% more common than state average
--- 11.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.4 minutes
--- #1,624 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 5.6% shorter than state average
--- 15.2% shorter than national average
#21. Greene County
--- #851 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 62.3% more common than state average
--- 14.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27 minutes
--- #868 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 8.9% longer than state average
--- 2.2% shorter than national average

#20. Yancey County
--- #831 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 64.3% more common than state average
--- 15.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.4 minutes
--- #642 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 14.5% longer than state average
--- 2.9% longer than national average
#19. Richmond County
--- #821 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 65.3% more common than state average
--- 16.4% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.8 minutes
--- #1,539 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.0% shorter than state average
--- 13.8% shorter than national average
#18. Gates County
--- #756 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 72.3% more common than state average
--- 21.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 36.6 minutes
--- #62 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 47.6% longer than state average
--- 32.6% longer than national average
#17. Polk County
--- #736 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 74.8% more common than state average
--- 23.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.1 minutes
--- #846 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 9.3% longer than state average
--- 1.8% shorter than national average

#16. Alleghany County
--- #721 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 76.3% more common than state average
--- 24.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.3 minutes
--- #1,424 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 2.0% shorter than state average
--- 12.0% shorter than national average
#15. Surry County
--- #712 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 77.9% more common than state average
--- 25.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.3 minutes
--- #992 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.0% longer than state average
--- 4.7% shorter than national average
#14. Northampton County
--- #685 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 82.0% more common than state average
--- 28.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26 minutes
--- #1,044 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.8% longer than state average
--- 5.8% shorter than national average

#13. Graham County
--- #670 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 84.0% more common than state average
--- 29.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28 minutes
--- #699 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 12.9% longer than state average
--- 1.4% longer than national average
#12. Sampson County
--- #575 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 98.3% more common than state average
--- 39.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.7 minutes
--- #916 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 7.7% longer than state average
--- 3.3% shorter than national average
#11. Hertford County
--- #527 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 105.7% more common than state average
--- 44.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.6 minutes
--- #934 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 7.3% longer than state average
--- 3.6% shorter than national average

#10. Cherokee County
--- #526 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 105.9% more common than state average
--- 45.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 25.7 minutes
--- #1,109 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.6% longer than state average
--- 6.9% shorter than national average

#9. Currituck County
--- #502 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 109.9% more common than state average
--- 47.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 36.2 minutes
--- #72 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 46.0% longer than state average
--- 31.2% longer than national average
#8. Pamlico County
--- #496 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 111.5% more common than state average
--- 49.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28.1 minutes
--- #685 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 13.3% longer than state average
--- 1.8% longer than national average
#7. Bertie County
--- #442 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 125.2% more common than state average
--- 58.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 28 minutes
--- #699 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 12.9% longer than state average
--- 1.4% longer than national average
#6. Chowan County
--- #408 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 133.0% more common than state average
--- 64.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.5 minutes
--- #492 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 19.0% longer than state average
--- 6.9% longer than national average

#5. Pasquotank County
--- #371 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 142.2% more common than state average
--- 70.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 29.5 minutes
--- #492 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 19.0% longer than state average
--- 6.9% longer than national average
#4. Camden County
--- #157 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 220.7% more common than state average
--- 125.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 34.1 minutes
--- #136 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 37.5% longer than state average
--- 23.6% longer than national average

#3. Hyde County
--- #97 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 275.2% more common than state average
--- 164.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.6 minutes
--- #1,581 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.8% shorter than state average
--- 14.5% shorter than national average
#2. Perquimans County
--- #44 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 379.3% more common than state average
--- 237.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 34.8 minutes
--- #111 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 40.3% longer than state average
--- 26.1% longer than national average

#1. Tyrrell County
--- #39 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 390.3% more common than state average
--- 245.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.9 minutes
--- #351 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 24.6% longer than state average
--- 12.0% longer than national average