East Gaffney ranks among the lowest-earning U.S. towns by household income
The poverty rate is 33.8%, where South Carolina as a whole has 14.1%. Measured by household income, East Gaffney is among the lowest-earning towns in the country. For jobs and income East Gaffney is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in East Gaffney: the gist
Fewer jobs are based in East Gaffney than ten years ago
Jobs counted in East Gaffney fell from 1,294 in 2014 to 678 in 2024, −48%. 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 ↓
East Gaffney and Gaffney trade workers both ways
Gaffney is the top workplace for East Gaffney residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in East Gaffney come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few East Gaffney 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 ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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 East Gaffney
Unemployment holds East Gaffney’s grade up (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($25,227, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, East Gaffney could be anywhere from D to C+.
Making and building: 33% of jobs based in East Gaffney
678 jobs are based in East Gaffney.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in East Gaffney, 2014 → 2024: 1,294 → 678. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs East Gaffney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
15% of working residents work in Gaffney
Where East Gaffney clocks in
15% of workers
4% 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.
East Gaffney’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of East Gaffney workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,004 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.
East Gaffney quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,185 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 647 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in East Gaffney on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.56 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Short hops and long hauls from East Gaffney
About 19% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in East Gaffney is mostly behind the wheel
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 1,018 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). 11.7% of East Gaffney households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of East Gaffney’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800, East Gaffney ranks 3,364th of 4,703 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 456 | Folly Beach SC | 2,081 | $102K | 4.0% | 2.1% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 468 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 627 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,362 | Bethlehem NH | 2,575 | $85K | 10.1% | 7.3% | 12% | C |
| 3,363 | Kiln MS | 2,016 | $72K | 18.2% | 5.8% | 6% | C |
| 3,364 | East Gaffney SC | 2,824 | $25K | 33.8% | 2.8% | 3% | C |
| 3,365 | Girard KS | 2,476 | $40K | 16.1% | 2.2% | 26% | C |
| 3,366 | Stevensville MT | 2,259 | $60K | 13.6% | 3.5% | 11% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 East Gaffney, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
15% of East Gaffney works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | East Gaffney workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Gaffney | – | C | C− | 24 min | $25,227 |
| Gaffney | 15% | D | A− | 19 min | $41,089 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Gaffney. Darker towns draw more of East Gaffney’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 2024, 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 East Gaffney: questions
What is the median household income in East Gaffney?
$25,227 (±$10,677) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in East Gaffney?
33.8%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from East Gaffney?
24 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 East Gaffney work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gaffney (15%, 2 mi), Spartanburg (4%, 20 mi), Charlotte (3%, 46 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is East Gaffney walkable?
East Gaffney is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around East Gaffney without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from East Gaffney, from the people who make the trip.
More of East Gaffney
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.