Household incomes in Hilltop trail those of 97% of U.S. towns
Hilltop grades C+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 17.0%, against 14.1% across South Carolina. Only 5% stay in Hilltop for work; outside it, Spartanburg is the main destination (15%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Hilltop, in brief
Hilltop is where the jobs are
Hilltop has 2,631 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,300 people are in town, 46% more than the 3,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Hilltop averages 27 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (16 to 22 minutes). Next door ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
44% of the jobs in Hilltop are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
The four measures behind Hilltop’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hilltop is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #70 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment holds Hilltop’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($37,444, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hilltop could be anywhere from C− to A−.
In and out of Hilltop on a workday
On a workday 1,222 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 2,571 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Hilltop on a workday afternoon, 46% more than live here.
2.1 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.
Inside Hilltop’s 2,631 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hilltop, 2013 → 2023: 3,477 → 2,631. 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 Hilltop’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into Hilltop
Where Hilltop clocks in
15% 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.
The daily trip from Hilltop: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hilltop workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,030 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.
Hilltop’s commute, mile by mile
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Hilltop walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hilltop is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #99 of 169 in South Carolina. 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 1,080 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). 8.7% of Hilltop households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hilltop’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hilltop places 2,551st of 4,618 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000
| # | 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 478 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 637 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,549 | Blue Hill ME | 2,798 | $80K | 4.7% | 5.4% | 26% | C+ |
| 2,550 | Dorset VT | 2,113 | $111K | 11.2% | 4.3% | 17% | C+ |
| 2,551 | Hilltop SC | 2,950 | $37K | 17.0% | 2.4% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,552 | Foley MN | 2,650 | $59K | 14.3% | 2.6% | 19% | C+ |
| 2,553 | Liverpool Township OH | 3,771 | $67K | 8.0% | 5.5% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Hilltop, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Work next door: 18% of Hilltop’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hilltop workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilltop | – | C+ | C+ | 27 min | $37,444 |
| Spartanburg | 15% | C− | B+ | 20 min | $51,964 |
| Saxon | under 2% | D | B+ | 16 min | $32,292 |
| Whitney | under 2% | B− | C | 21 min | $51,275 |
| Southern Shops | 3% | D | C− | 22 min | $37,754 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Spartanburg. Darker towns draw more of Hilltop’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 Hilltop: questions
What is the median household income in Hilltop?
$37,444 (±$14,674) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hilltop?
17.0%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hilltop?
27 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 Hilltop work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spartanburg (15%, 3 mi), Greenville (6%, 25 mi), Southern Shops (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hilltop walkable?
Hilltop is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hilltop without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hilltop, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hilltop
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.