There are 3.2 jobs in Fairforest for every working resident, and 2,031 people commute in
Employers in Fairforest report 2,050 jobs; 634 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Fairforest are C− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Measured by household income, Fairforest is behind 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Fairforest, in brief
Fairforest has far more jobs than workers
Fairforest has 2,050 jobs, 3.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 3,100 people are in town, 82% more than the 1,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
Fairforest makes and builds things
66% of the jobs based in Fairforest are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Fairforest residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 24%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Fairforest pay better than its residents’ jobs
72% of the jobs based in Fairforest pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 48% of the jobs Fairforest residents hold. 99% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Fairforest. 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 634 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Fairforest gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Fairforest is better than 24% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Fairforest’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (28.9%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Fairforest’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Fairforest could be anywhere from C− to B+.
In and out of Fairforest on a workday
On a workday 615 residents head out to work and 19 work right here.
About 3,100 people are in Fairforest on a workday afternoon, 82% more than live here.
3.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
66% of the jobs in Fairforest make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairforest, 2013 → 2023: 1,560 → 2,050. 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 Fairforest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Fairforest’s workers come from
Where Fairforest clocks in
16% 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.
From Fairforest, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairforest workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 703 commuters (the 5% 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.
How far Fairforest’s workers travel
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.
Driving is how Fairforest gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fairforest is more walkable than 12% 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 738 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). 0.0% of Fairforest households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fairforest’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Fairforest ranks: 3,826th of 5,760 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 3,824 | Lafayette Township PA | 2,071 | $67K | 10.3% | 0.0% | 2% | C− |
| 3,825 | Concord Township PA | 1,249 | $68K | 10.4% | 3.1% | 2% | C− |
| 3,826 | Fairforest SC | 1,727 | $52K | 28.9% | 0.0% | 3% | C− |
| 3,827 | Dresden OH | 1,646 | $58K | 14.0% | 2.9% | 4% | C− |
| 3,828 | Halbert Township IN | 1,552 | $71K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 15% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Fairforest, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Fairforest and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairforest workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairforest | – | C− | D | 24 min | $52,468 |
| Arcadia | under 1% | C− | C+ | 21 min | $55,218 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairforest’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 Fairforest: questions
What is the median household income in Fairforest?
$52,468 (±$35,537) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairforest?
28.9%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairforest?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairforest work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spartanburg (16%, 5 mi), Greenville (5%, 21 mi), Southern Shops (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairforest walkable?
Fairforest is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairforest 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 Fairforest, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairforest
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.