Data / Rankings / Mean travel time to work / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by mean travel time to work

Gates County had the highest mean travel time to work of 98 counties in 2021, at 39.3 minutes. Jackson County had the lowest, at 19.5 minutes. The median was 25.3 minutes and the figure for North Carolina was 25 minutes. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest39.3Gates County
Lowest19.5Jackson County
Median25.398 counties
North Carolina25History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Gates CountyGates County: 39.3 minutes39.3Currituck CountyCurrituck County: 35.7 minutes35.7Perquimans CountyPerquimans County: 34.4 minutes34.4Franklin CountyFranklin County: 33.3 minutes33.3Madison CountyMadison County: 33.1 minutes33.1Pender CountyPender County: 32.4 minutes32.4Johnston CountyJohnston County: 32 minutes32Harnett CountyHarnett County: 31.9 minutes31.9Chowan CountyChowan County: 31.1 minutes31.1Person CountyPerson County: 30.9 minutes30.9Caswell CountyCaswell County: 30.8 minutes30.8Camden CountyCamden County: 30.6 minutes30.6Jones CountyJones County: 30.1 minutes30.1Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 30.1 minutes30.1Stokes CountyStokes County: 29.9 minutes29.9Hoke CountyHoke County: 29.8 minutes29.8Union CountyUnion County: 29.5 minutes29.5Granville CountyGranville County: 29.3 minutes29.3Chatham CountyChatham County: 29 minutes29Pasquotank CountyPasquotank County: 29 minutes29Sampson CountySampson County: 28.9 minutes28.9Warren CountyWarren County: 28.7 minutes28.7Hertford CountyHertford County: 28.5 minutes28.5Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 28.3 minutes28.3Greene CountyGreene County: 28.3 minutes28.3Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 28.1 minutes28.1Columbus CountyColumbus County: 28 minutes28Duplin CountyDuplin County: 27.7 minutes27.7Stanly CountyStanly County: 27.7 minutes27.7Yadkin CountyYadkin County: 27.7 minutes27.7Washington CountyWashington County: 27.2 minutes27.2Davie CountyDavie County: 27 minutes27Bertie CountyBertie County: 26.9 minutes26.9Wilkes CountyWilkes County: 26.9 minutes26.9Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 26.6 minutes26.6Gaston CountyGaston County: 26.5 minutes26.5Moore CountyMoore County: 26.4 minutes26.4Lee CountyLee County: 26.3 minutes26.3Yancey CountyYancey County: 26.3 minutes26.3Rowan CountyRowan County: 26.1 minutes26.1
minutes. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
minutes
1Gates County Estimated39.3
2Currituck County Estimated35.7
3Perquimans County Estimated34.4
4Franklin County Estimated33.3
5Madison County Estimated33.1
6Pender County Estimated32.4
7Johnston County Estimated32
8Harnett County Estimated31.9
9Chowan County Estimated31.1
10Person County Estimated30.9
11Caswell County Estimated30.8
12Camden County Estimated30.6
13Jones County Estimated30.1
13Lincoln County Estimated30.1
15Stokes County Estimated29.9
16Hoke County Estimated29.8
17Union County Estimated29.5
18Granville County Estimated29.3
19Chatham County Estimated29
19Pasquotank County Estimated29
21Sampson County Estimated28.9
22Warren County Estimated28.7
23Hertford County Estimated28.5
24Cabarrus County Estimated28.3
24Greene County Estimated28.3
26Northampton County Estimated28.1
27Columbus County Estimated28
28Duplin County Estimated27.7
28Stanly County Estimated27.7
28Yadkin County Estimated27.7
31Washington County Estimated27.2
32Davie County Estimated27
33Bertie County Estimated26.9
33Wilkes County Estimated26.9
35Cherokee County Estimated26.6
36Gaston County Estimated26.5
37Moore County Estimated26.4
38Lee County Estimated26.3
38Yancey County Estimated26.3
40Rowan County Estimated26.1
41Polk County Estimated26
41Surry County Estimated26
43Caldwell County Estimated25.9
43Mecklenburg County Estimated25.9
43Rockingham County Estimated25.9
46Bladen County Estimated25.8
47Wake County Estimated25.6
48Anson County Estimated25.4
48Iredell County Estimated25.4
50Alamance County Estimated25.2
50Rutherford County Estimated25.2
52Ashe County Estimated25.1
53Alleghany County Estimated24.9
53Vance County Estimated24.9
55Brunswick County Estimated24.7
56Graham County Estimated24.6
56Martin County Estimated24.6
58Cleveland County Estimated24.5
58Davidson County Estimated24.5
58Richmond County Estimated24.5
61Alexander County Estimated24.4
61Robeson County Estimated24.4
63Montgomery County Estimated24.3
64Carteret County Estimated24
64McDowell County Estimated24
64Orange County Estimated24
64Randolph County Estimated24
68Pamlico County Estimated23.8
69Clay County Estimated23.7
70Halifax County Estimated23.6
71Beaufort County Estimated23.5
72Lenoir County Estimated23.4
72Nash County Estimated23.4
74Scotland County Estimated23.3
75Mitchell County Estimated23.2
76Burke County Estimated23
76Dare County Estimated23
78Edgecombe County Estimated22.8
79Durham County Estimated22.7
80Haywood County Estimated22.6
81Forsyth County Estimated22.5
81Transylvania County Estimated22.5
83Guilford County Estimated22.4
84Catawba County Estimated22.2
84Wilson County Estimated22.2
86Henderson County Estimated21.9
87Macon County Estimated21.7
87Wayne County Estimated21.7
89Onslow County Estimated21.6
90Cumberland County Estimated21.5
91Pitt County Estimated21.1
92Craven County Estimated20.7
92Watauga County Estimated20.7
94Avery County Estimated20.4
94Buncombe County Estimated20.4
96New Hanover County Estimated20.3
97Swain County Estimated19.7
98Jackson County Estimated19.5

Other periods

About this ranking

Mean one-way travel time to work in minutes for workers aged 16 and over who did not work from home.

ACS five-year estimates: the period labels the final year of the five-year survey window, not a single calendar year. Calculated from aggregate minutes in B08135 and workers in B08303, with both inputs stored. Missing or suppressed county inputs are left out. Not mixed with ACS one-year estimates.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Use this data in your AI agent

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Rank Counties in North Carolina by mean travel time to work using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest mean travel time to work?

Gates County, with 39.3 minutes in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest mean travel time to work?

Jackson County, with 19.5 minutes in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home. Retrieved 2026-10-10. 1 counties have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Mean travel time to work: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings