Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Duncan trail those of 85% of U.S. towns
1% of workers have no commute at all (South Carolina 12%). Poverty touches 12.4% of residents (South Carolina 14.1%). The two grades for Duncan are C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Duncan stands out on work
Few Duncan workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 12% across South Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Duncan than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Duncan fell from 4,573 in 2013 to 3,300 in 2023, −28%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Duncan gains people on a workday
About 5,600 people are in Duncan on a workday afternoon, 21% more than the 4,700 who live here: 3,200 come in to work and 2,200 head out. Day and night ↓
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.
The four measures behind Duncan’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Duncan is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #82 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Duncan’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,500, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Duncan could be anywhere from D to A.
A commute of about 28 minutes in Duncan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Duncan workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,137 commuters (the 1% 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.
What work there is in Duncan: 3,300 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Duncan, 2013 → 2023: 4,573 → 3,300. 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 Duncan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Duncan, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,247 residents head out to work, 86 work right here, and 3,214 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Duncan on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 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.
12% of working residents work in Greenville
Where Duncan clocks in
12% of workers
6% 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.
Half of Duncan commutes less than 11 miles
About 15% 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.
For most of Duncan, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Duncan is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns, #152 of 169 in South Carolina. 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 2,167 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). 1.8% of Duncan households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Duncan’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Duncan is 2,530th among 3,798 U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 658 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,528 | Lake Tansi TN | 4,437 | $58K | 13.9% | 2.0% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,529 | Jackson MN | 3,305 | $70K | 11.8% | 4.0% | 44% | C+ |
| 2,530 | Duncan SC | 4,675 | $53K | 12.4% | 5.4% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,531 | Cockrell Hill TX | 3,638 | $52K | 11.2% | 11.1% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,532 | Murray NY | 4,744 | $65K | 10.0% | 6.6% | 11% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,798 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Duncan, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Around Duncan: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Greer (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Duncan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duncan | – | C+ | C− | 28 min | $52,500 |
| Lyman | 1% | B+ | C | 26 min | $75,653 |
| Startex | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Greer | 6% | B+ | C+ | 24 min | $82,626 |
| Wellford | under 1% | B | D | 23 min | $57,338 |
Same-state neighbors only. Startex: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Duncan’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 Duncan: questions
What is the median household income in Duncan?
$52,500 (±$29,327) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Duncan?
12.4%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Duncan?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Duncan work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (12%, 14 mi), Spartanburg (6%, 12 mi), Greer (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Duncan walkable?
Duncan is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Duncan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Duncan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Duncan
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.