Photo: US Government · Public domainEarning a living in Harbor Island
For 27% of workers, the job is at home, next to 12% for South Carolina as a whole. Only 2% work in Harbor Island; the top destination outside it is Fripp Island (16%, 7 miles). A typical one-way commute from Harbor Island lasts 51 minutes (South Carolina 26, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Harbor Island
On a workday 48 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 76 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.
1.6 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where the people who work in Harbor Island live
Where Harbor Island clocks in
16% of workers
10% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Harbor Island
77 jobs are based in Harbor Island.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harbor Island, 2014 → 2024: 150 → 77. 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 Harbor Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Harbor Island’s commute takes about 51 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 16.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harbor Island workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 33 commuters (the 27% 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.
Harbor Island’s commute, mile by mile
About 31% 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.
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 Harbor Island: questions
What is the median household income in Harbor Island?
$105,425 (±$14,378) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harbor Island?
9.2%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harbor Island?
51 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harbor Island work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fripp Island (16%, 7 mi), Beaufort (10%, 17 mi), Bluffton (6%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Harbor Island 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 Harbor Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harbor Island
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.