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 2023, at 40.9 minutes. Swain County had the lowest, at 20.5 minutes. The median was 25.8 minutes and the figure for North Carolina was 25.1 minutes. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest40.9Gates County
Lowest20.5Swain County
Median25.898 counties
North Carolina25.1History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Gates CountyGates County: 40.9 minutes40.9Currituck CountyCurrituck County: 36.2 minutes36.2Perquimans CountyPerquimans County: 35.4 minutes35.4Franklin CountyFranklin County: 34.4 minutes34.4Johnston CountyJohnston County: 32.5 minutes32.5Harnett CountyHarnett County: 32.4 minutes32.4Madison CountyMadison County: 32.3 minutes32.3Caswell CountyCaswell County: 31.6 minutes31.6Camden CountyCamden County: 31.4 minutes31.4Pender CountyPender County: 30.8 minutes30.8Granville CountyGranville County: 30.6 minutes30.6Stokes CountyStokes County: 30.5 minutes30.5Hoke CountyHoke County: 30.2 minutes30.2Person CountyPerson County: 30.2 minutes30.2Jones CountyJones County: 30.1 minutes30.1Duplin CountyDuplin County: 29.9 minutes29.9Sampson CountySampson County: 29.9 minutes29.9Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 29.8 minutes29.8Union CountyUnion County: 29.7 minutes29.7Chowan CountyChowan County: 29.3 minutes29.3Bladen CountyBladen County: 28.9 minutes28.9Stanly CountyStanly County: 28.7 minutes28.7Yadkin CountyYadkin County: 28.3 minutes28.3Columbus CountyColumbus County: 28.2 minutes28.2Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 28.2 minutes28.2Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 28 minutes28Warren CountyWarren County: 27.9 minutes27.9Washington CountyWashington County: 27.9 minutes27.9Hertford CountyHertford County: 27.8 minutes27.8Alexander CountyAlexander County: 27.7 minutes27.7Polk CountyPolk County: 27.6 minutes27.6Yancey CountyYancey County: 27.6 minutes27.6Pasquotank CountyPasquotank County: 27.3 minutes27.3Anson CountyAnson County: 27.1 minutes27.1Chatham CountyChatham County: 27.1 minutes27.1Davie CountyDavie County: 27 minutes27Caldwell CountyCaldwell County: 26.8 minutes26.8Moore CountyMoore County: 26.8 minutes26.8Wilkes CountyWilkes County: 26.8 minutes26.8Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 26.6 minutes26.6
minutes. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
minutes		Change on 2022
1Gates County Estimated40.9+2.3
2Currituck County Estimated36.2+0.4
3Perquimans County Estimated35.4-0.8
4Franklin County Estimated34.4+0.5
5Johnston County Estimated32.5-0.2
6Harnett County Estimated32.4+0.3
7Madison County Estimated32.3+0.2
8Caswell County Estimated31.6+0.1
9Camden County Estimated31.4-0.3
10Pender County Estimated30.8-0.4
11Granville County Estimated30.6+0.5
12Stokes County Estimated30.5-0.4
13Hoke County Estimated30.2+0.8
13Person County Estimated30.2-0.4
15Jones County Estimated30.1-0.4
16Duplin County Estimated29.9+1.3
16Sampson County Estimated29.9+0.5
18Lincoln County Estimated29.8+0.2
19Union County Estimated29.7+0.1
20Chowan County Estimated29.3-1.6
21Bladen County Estimated28.9+2.1
22Stanly County Estimated28.7+0.5
23Yadkin County Estimated28.3-0.5
24Columbus County Estimated28.2-0.1
24Northampton County Estimated28.2+1.8
26Cabarrus County Estimated28+0.4
27Warren County Estimated27.9+0.2
27Washington County Estimated27.9+0.4
29Hertford County Estimated27.8-0.5
30Alexander County Estimated27.7+2
31Polk County Estimated27.6+0.4
31Yancey County Estimated27.6+0.5
33Pasquotank County Estimated27.3-1
34Anson County Estimated27.1+0.3
34Chatham County Estimated27.1-0.9
36Davie County Estimated270
37Caldwell County Estimated26.8+0.7
37Moore County Estimated26.8+0.6
37Wilkes County Estimated26.8-0.8
40Montgomery County Estimated26.6+2.3
41Cherokee County Estimated26.5+0.3
41Rockingham County Estimated26.5+0.1
43Gaston County Estimated26.4-0.1
43Greene County Estimated26.4-0.3
43Vance County Estimated26.4+1.1
46Rutherford County Estimated26.3+0.9
47Rowan County Estimated26.2+0.1
48Alleghany County Estimated25.8-0.3
48Bertie County Estimated25.8-1.8
50Lee County Estimated25.7-0.1
51Alamance County Estimated25.6-0.3
51Brunswick County Estimated25.6+0.4
53Mecklenburg County Estimated25.4-0.2
54Surry County Estimated25.3-0.6
54Wake County Estimated25.3-0.1
56Cleveland County Estimated25.1+0.3
57Richmond County Estimated25+0.2
57Robeson County Estimated25+0.2
59Martin County Estimated24.9-0.5
59McDowell County Estimated24.9+0.3
61Iredell County Estimated24.7-0.4
62Randolph County Estimated24.6+0.3
63Ashe County Estimated24.5-0.5
64Davidson County Estimated24.4+0.1
64Halifax County Estimated24.4+0.7
66Beaufort County Estimated24.2+0.1
66Lenoir County Estimated24.2+0.6
66Pamlico County Estimated24.2+0.6
69Mitchell County Estimated24.1+0.4
70Orange County Estimated23.80
70Scotland County Estimated23.8-0.6
72Nash County Estimated23.7-0.5
73Clay County Estimated23.6-0.9
74Burke County Estimated23.5-0.3
74Transylvania County Estimated23.5+1.4
76Carteret County Estimated23.2-0.8
77Haywood County Estimated23-0.1
78Durham County Estimated22.9+0.4
78Edgecombe County Estimated22.9+0.4
78Forsyth County Estimated22.9+0.2
78Wayne County Estimated22.9+1.1
82Catawba County Estimated22.7+0.3
83Macon County Estimated22.6+0.3
84Guilford County Estimated22.5+0.5
85Graham County Estimated22.4n/a
85Wilson County Estimated22.4-0.2
87Henderson County Estimated22.30
88Dare County Estimated22-1
89Avery County Estimated21.9+1.2
90Pitt County Estimated21.7+0.4
91Onslow County Estimated21.6-0.4
92Cumberland County Estimated21.40
93Craven County Estimated21+0.7
94Buncombe County Estimated20.8+0.2
95Watauga County Estimated20.7+0.7
96Jackson County Estimated20.6+0.8
97New Hanover County Estimated20.50
97Swain County Estimated20.50

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 2023 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Questions

Which county has the highest mean travel time to work?

Gates County, with 40.9 minutes in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest mean travel time to work?

Swain County, with 20.5 minutes in 2023.

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 2023 and are not ranked.

Mean travel time to work: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings