Chamberlain-Kay House · Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0Belton has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income C−: better than 17% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #126 of 168 in South Carolina.
Walkability C: more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns · #119 of 169 in South Carolina.
Household incomes here are lower than in 89% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 29 minutes each way (South Carolina 26, U.S. 26). Only 4% work in Belton; the top destination outside it is Anderson (12%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Belton
Fewer jobs are based in Belton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Belton fell from 1,123 in 2013 to 764 in 2023, −32%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Belton pay little
29% of the jobs based in Belton pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Few Belton workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 12% across South Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Belton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Belton is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #126 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Belton’s grade up (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($49,107, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Belton could be anywhere from D to B.
What the 764 jobs in Belton are
764 jobs are based in Belton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Belton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belton, 2013 → 2023: 1,123 → 764. 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.
About 29 minutes each way, longer than most of South Carolina
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belton workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,867 commuters (the 1% 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.
Belton quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,832 residents head out to work, 76 work right here, and 688 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in Belton on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.40 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
12% of working residents work in Anderson
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Belton clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Belton commutes less than 18 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Belton start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Belton is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns, #119 of 169 in South Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.4% across South Carolina.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,888 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.0% of Belton households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Belton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Belton is 3,381st of 4,009 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,300 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Belton, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
| # | 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 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 681 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,379 | Lee Township MI | 3,836 | $65K | 18.7% | 5.6% | 2% | C− |
| 3,380 | Beaufort NC | 4,912 | $53K | 11.2% | 5.7% | 23% | C− |
| 3,381 | Belton SC | 4,631 | $49K | 19.6% | 7.0% | 4% | C− |
| 3,382 | Camden TN | 3,690 | $55K | 19.8% | 4.4% | 24% | C− |
| 3,383 | North Canaan CT | 3,231 | $72K | 13.4% | 8.6% | 28% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,009 | 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.
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 Belton: questions
What is the median household income in Belton?
$49,107 (±$13,282) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belton?
19.6%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Anderson (12%, 8 mi), Greenville (9%, 23 mi), Honea Path (2%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Belton walkable?
Belton is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belton
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.