At 1.0%, unemployment in Burton is lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 26 minutes each way, about the same as across South Carolina. The two grades for Burton are B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. About one in ten work in Burton; the top destination outside it is Beaufort (21%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Burton, in brief
Jobs in Burton have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Burton went from 2,033 in 2013 to 5,264 in 2023, +159%. The jobs ↓
Burton is where the jobs are
Burton has 5,264 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,900 people are in town, 43% more than the 6,900 who live here. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Burton pay better than its residents’ jobs
73% of the jobs based in Burton pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 50% of the jobs Burton residents hold. 95% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Burton. The jobs ↓
A lot of Burton works one town over
26% of working residents work in a town that borders Burton: Beaufort (21%) and Port Royal (5%). Next door ↓
The biggest group of Burton’s workers comes from Bluffton
718 of the people who work in Burton live in Bluffton, 18 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Burton gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Burton is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #52 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment holds Burton’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (12.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Burton could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Burton
5,264 jobs are based in Burton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burton, 2013 → 2023: 2,033 → 5,264. 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 Burton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Burton by day and by night
On a workday 2,074 residents head out to work, 245 work right here, and 5,019 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,900 people are in Burton on a workday afternoon, 43% more than live here.
2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into Burton
Where Burton clocks in
21% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Getting to work from Burton takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burton workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,337 commuters (the 8% 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.
How far it is to work from Burton
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.
Burton is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Burton is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #128 of 169 in South Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 3,610 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). 5.2% of Burton households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Burton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,229 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300, Burton comes 1,695th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 219 | Lake Murray of Richland SC | 7,023 | $119K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 960 | Blythewood SC | 7,233 | $94K | 4.8% | 5.0% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,094 | Lyman SC | 7,103 | $76K | 6.1% | 3.4% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,693 | Townsend MA | 9,143 | $122K | 8.9% | 7.2% | 8% | B− |
| 1,694 | Mayfield Township MI | 8,070 | $69K | 7.7% | 3.4% | 5% | B− |
| 1,695 | Burton SC | 6,912 | $68K | 12.1% | 1.0% | 11% | B− |
| 1,696 | Austell GA | 8,339 | $73K | 10.8% | 5.5% | 1% | B− |
| 1,697 | Quakertown PA | 9,235 | $86K | 10.2% | 7.2% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Burton, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Next door is work for 26% of Burton
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burton | – | B− | C | 26 min | $68,063 |
| Beaufort | 21% | C+ | A− | 18 min | $61,220 |
| Port Royal | 5% | B+ | A− | 14 min | $74,870 |
| Shell Point | under 2% | B+ | C− | 20 min | $81,630 |
| Laurel Bay | under 2% | C− | D | 28 min | $54,345 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Beaufort. Darker towns draw more of Burton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Burton: questions
What is the median household income in Burton?
$68,063 (±$11,879) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burton?
12.1%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burton work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beaufort (21%, 2 mi), Hilton Head Island (7%, 16 mi), Bluffton (6%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burton walkable?
Burton is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burton
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.