Buford's Massacre Site · Photo: The original uploader was CarolinAL at English Wikipedia. · Public domainBuford at work: jobs, income and the commute
There are 173 jobs in Buford, and 176 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Buford; the top destination outside it is Lancaster (14%, 9 miles). Commuters spend 39 minutes getting to work on average, where South Carolina has 26 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Buford on a workday afternoon
On a workday 175 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 172 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 (0.98 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.
Out of Buford to work: where people go
Where Buford clocks in
14% of workers
13% of workers
7% 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.
Buford is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buford, 2013 → 2023: 27 → 173. 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 Buford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Buford: about 39 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buford workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 165 commuters (the 15% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Buford
About 24% 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.
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 Buford: questions
What is the median household income in Buford?
$81,583 (±$41,968) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buford?
2.9%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buford?
39 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buford work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lancaster (14%, 9 mi), Charlotte (13%, 34 mi), Rock Hill (7%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Buford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buford
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.