Sheldon Church Ruins · Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0Dale has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Commuters spend 32 minutes getting to work on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 27 jobs are based in Dale for 207 working residents. Hardly any stay in Dale for work; outside it, Beaufort is the main destination (12%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Dale apart
Dale is a place people come home to
There are 27 jobs based in Dale, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Dale has about 230 people in it, 44% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Dale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 26 across South Carolina. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; with 207 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Dale: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 207 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 27 people come in from elsewhere.
About 230 people are in Dale on a workday afternoon, 44% fewer 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.
From Dale, about 32 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dale workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 69 commuters (the 16% 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.
Where Dale goes to work
Where Dale 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.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Dale is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dale, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 27. 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 Dale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Dale, by distance
About 20% 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.
The towns around Dale
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale | – | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Lobeco | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lobeco: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dale’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 Dale: questions
What is the poverty rate in Dale?
55.7%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dale?
32 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dale work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beaufort (12%, 7 mi), Burton (11%, 9 mi), Hilton Head Island (9%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Dale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dale
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.