Elgin has higher unemployment (7.3%) than 84% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 27 minutes each way (South Carolina 26, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Elgin B; getting around on foot earns it D. Only 2% stay in Elgin for work; outside it, Columbia is the main destination (21%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Elgin apart on work
The better-paid jobs are outside Elgin
59% of Elgin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 27% of the jobs based in Elgin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
55% of the jobs in Elgin are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Elgin pay little
31% of the jobs based in Elgin pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 30% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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 803 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Elgin
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elgin is better than 63% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Elgin’s grade up (4.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elgin could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
The 573 jobs based in Elgin
573 jobs are based in Elgin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elgin, 2013 → 2023: 413 → 573. 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 Elgin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Elgin for work, and who comes in
On a workday 785 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 555 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Elgin on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.71 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 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Elgin to work: where people go
Where Elgin clocks in
21% of workers
5% 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.
How long Elgin spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elgin workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 959 commuters (the 13% 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 in the region Elgin works
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.
Few in Elgin walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elgin is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns. 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 1,107 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). 2.0% of Elgin households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elgin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elgin places 1,454th of 5,760 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 273 | Pimlico SC | 1,765 | $137K | 4.8% | 0.0% | 0% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 277 | Sullivan's Island SC | 1,961 | $193K | 8.8% | 1.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 385 | Folly Beach SC | 2,081 | $102K | 4.0% | 2.1% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,452 | Landover Hills MD | 1,811 | $93K | 7.8% | 10.8% | <1% | B |
| 1,453 | Stillwater NY | 1,751 | $90K | 8.0% | 4.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,454 | Elgin SC | 1,675 | $92K | 4.2% | 7.3% | 2% | B |
| 1,455 | Spencer WI | 1,809 | $70K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 9% | B |
| 1,456 | Fish Lake Township MN | 2,255 | $123K | 4.3% | 5.2% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Elgin, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
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 Elgin: questions
What is the median household income in Elgin?
$91,667 (±$23,199) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elgin?
4.2%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elgin?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elgin work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (21%, 11 mi), Camden (5%, 12 mi), Woodfield (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elgin walkable?
Elgin is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elgin 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 Elgin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elgin
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.