Cannon Building · Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0Work, pay and getting to work in Fountain Inn
Only 5% stay in Fountain Inn for work; outside it, Greenville is the main destination (19%, 13 miles). Fountain Inn grades B for jobs and income and C for walkability. Working residents average 21 minutes each way; South Carolina averages 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Fountain Inn apart
Fountain Inn makes and builds things
55% of the jobs based in Fountain Inn are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Fountain Inn residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 27%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Fountain Inn are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 26 across South Carolina. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Carolina 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.
Fountain Inn’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fountain Inn is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #46 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Fountain Inn’s grade up (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fountain Inn could be anywhere from C to A.
Fountain Inn works in goods: 55% of its jobs
4,118 jobs are based in Fountain Inn.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fountain Inn, 2013 → 2023: 3,581 → 4,118. 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 Fountain Inn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Fountain Inn: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fountain Inn workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,121 commuters (the 15% 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.
Who leaves Fountain Inn for work, and who comes in
On a workday 5,123 residents head out to work, 275 work right here, and 3,843 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
Where Fountain Inn goes to work
Where Fountain Inn clocks in
19% of workers
5% 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 far it is to work from Fountain Inn
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.
Most trips from Fountain Inn start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fountain Inn is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns, #122 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Fountain Inn near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,045 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 1% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.3% of Fountain Inn households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fountain Inn’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000, Fountain Inn comes 1,262nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Tega Cay SC | 14,457 | $142K | 1.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 186 | Five Forks SC | 18,656 | $142K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 239 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,260 | Miami Township OH | 16,030 | $99K | 7.5% | 8.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,261 | Four Corners TX | 11,692 | $76K | 8.3% | 7.0% | 1% | B |
| 1,262 | Fountain Inn SC | 14,722 | $74K | 7.7% | 4.7% | 5% | B |
| 1,263 | Stroud Township PA | 19,629 | $95K | 10.3% | 3.9% | 12% | B |
| 1,264 | Garden City ID | 13,047 | $70K | 12.0% | 3.4% | 8% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Fountain Inn, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Fountain Inn and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fountain Inn workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Inn | – | B | C | 21 min | $73,585 |
| Simpsonville | 5% | B+ | C+ | 22 min | $82,457 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Simpsonville. Darker towns draw more of Fountain Inn’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 Fountain Inn: questions
What is the median household income in Fountain Inn?
$73,585 (±$10,762) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fountain Inn?
7.7%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fountain Inn?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fountain Inn work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (19%, 13 mi), Mauldin (5%, 8 mi), Simpsonville (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fountain Inn walkable?
Fountain Inn is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fountain Inn without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fountain Inn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fountain Inn
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.