Photo: Dr. Blazer · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Camden (8.2%) is higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
4% of workers work from home (South Carolina 12%). For jobs and income Camden is better than 26% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (C−). About one in five stay in Camden for work; outside it, Columbia is the main destination (12%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Camden: the gist
Camden draws workers from far and wide
The 5,781 jobs in Camden are filled from a wide area. Camden’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 17%; the other 73% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Camden is where the jobs are
Camden has 5,781 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Camden’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Camden is Columbia, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (411) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Camden workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across South Carolina. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Camden workers work from home
Only 4% 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Camden
Job access by car holds Camden’s grade up (ahead of 55% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Camden could be anywhere from D to A−.
Who travels to work in Camden, and from where
Where Camden clocks in
12% of workers
3% 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.
A workday in Camden: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,754 residents head out to work, 578 work right here, and 5,203 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Camden on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.7 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.
How many miles Camden commutes
About 23% 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.
Commuting from Camden: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Camden workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,611 commuters (the 4% 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.
Inside Camden’s 5,781 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Camden, 2013 → 2023: 5,436 → 5,781. 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 Camden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Camden, the car does most of the work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 3,745 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). 9.2% of Camden households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Camden’s commuters take a bus or train.
Camden next to U.S. towns of 6,400 to 12,400: 2,327th of 2,886 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 232 | Lake Murray of Richland SC | 7,023 | $119K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 820 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 975 | Blythewood SC | 7,233 | $94K | 4.8% | 5.0% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,325 | Jefferson City TN | 9,103 | $61K | 19.0% | 6.1% | 14% | C |
| 2,326 | Canton MS | 10,873 | $38K | 33.3% | 3.5% | 19% | C |
| 2,327 | Camden SC | 9,201 | $64K | 13.2% | 8.2% | 17% | C |
| 2,328 | Wharton TX | 8,776 | $58K | 11.9% | 6.2% | 15% | C |
| 2,329 | Deerpark NY | 7,433 | $73K | 10.2% | 8.4% | 13% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,886 | 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 Camden, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
How Camden compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to East Camden (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Camden workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | – | C | C− | 31 min | $63,576 |
| East Camden | 2% | C | C− | 32 min | $53,715 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Camden’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 Camden: questions
What is the median household income in Camden?
$63,576 (±$20,729) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Camden?
13.2%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Camden?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Camden work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (12%, 22 mi), Lugoff (4%, 6 mi), Charlotte (3%, 67 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Camden walkable?
Camden is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Camden without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Camden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Camden
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.