Clifton draws 482 commuters a day, with 2.4 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Clifton report 487 jobs; 207 of its residents have a job. Only 2% stay in Clifton for work; outside it, Spartanburg is the main destination (17%, 7 miles). Home is the office for 0% of workers, against 12% across South Carolina.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Clifton in brief
The daily trip from Clifton: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clifton workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 333 commuters (the 0% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Clifton
On a workday 202 residents head out to work and 5 work right here.
About 1,100 people are in Clifton on a workday afternoon, 35% more than live here.
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 Clifton
Where Clifton clocks in
17% of workers
5% 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.
Most jobs in Clifton are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clifton, 2013 → 2023: 522 → 487. 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 Clifton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Clifton
About 18% 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.
Around Clifton: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clifton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | – | — | — | 22 min | $51,364 |
| Converse | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Converse: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clifton’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 Clifton: questions
What is the median household income in Clifton?
$51,364 (±$5,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clifton?
51.9%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clifton?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clifton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spartanburg (17%, 7 mi), Greenville (5%, 33 mi), Gaffney (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Clifton 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 Clifton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clifton
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.