Banksia Hall · Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Barnwell (13.8%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Barnwell grades D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 85% of U.S. towns. For 2% of workers, the job is at home, next to 12% for South Carolina as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Barnwell: the gist
Barnwell trades workers with the towns around it
Barnwell has about as many jobs (2,193) as working residents (1,846), but they are mostly different people: 1,536 residents leave for work each day while 1,883 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Barnwell are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Barnwell workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 12% across South Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Barnwell
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Barnwell is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #165 of 168 in South Carolina. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Barnwell’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Barnwell could be anywhere from D− to D.
How many people are in Barnwell by day
On a workday 1,536 residents head out to work, 310 work right here, and 1,883 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.19 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How long Barnwell spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Barnwell workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,775 commuters (the 2% who work from home are left out). Across South Carolina: 86% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Barnwell
About 34% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
6% of working residents work in Aiken
Where Barnwell clocks in
6% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What the 2,193 jobs in Barnwell are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Barnwell, 2013 → 2023: 1,797 → 2,193. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Barnwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
For most of Barnwell, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Barnwell is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #70 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Barnwell near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,808 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 12.0% of Barnwell households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Barnwell’s commuters take a bus or train.
Barnwell next to U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 666 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,856 | Ainaloa HI | 4,094 | $59K | 26.7% | 17.8% | 0% | D− |
| 3,857 | Leesville LA | 5,210 | $38K | 33.7% | 9.8% | 28% | D− |
| 3,858 | Barnwell SC | 4,619 | $52K | 23.9% | 13.8% | 17% | D− |
| 3,859 | Center Township OH | 3,362 | $49K | 19.4% | 9.0% | 29% | D− |
| 3,860 | Rio Dell CA | 3,211 | $43K | 17.6% | 14.3% | 7% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Barnwell, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Barnwell: questions
What is the median household income in Barnwell?
$52,006 (±$9,911) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Barnwell?
23.9%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Barnwell?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Barnwell work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aiken (6%, 29 mi), Columbia (4%, 61 mi), Snelling (2%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Barnwell walkable?
Barnwell is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Barnwell without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Barnwell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Barnwell
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.