More recently, many of the town's residents have been employed by the Dounreay Nuclear Power Station, or work at the port of Scrabster, a mile from the town centre, from which ferries sail to Stromness in the Orkney Islands.
The town is the northernmost point of the British railway network, with trains running south to Inverness, and is at the northern end of the A9 road. It also boasts a small museum.