Fort Johnson/Powder Magazine · Photo: Conrad Wise Chapman · Public domainFewer people are out of work in James Island (1.2%) than in 93% of U.S. towns
James Island grades A for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, James Island is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. 18% of workers have no commute at all, where South Carolina as a whole has 12%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in James Island: the gist
James Island and Charleston trade workers both ways
Charleston is the top workplace for James Island residents (43%) and also where the most people who work in James Island come from (31% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most James Island residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
James Island has added jobs fast
Jobs based in James Island went from 1,555 in 2013 to 2,102 in 2023, +35%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside James Island’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, James Island is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #7 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (5.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, James Island could be anywhere from A− to A+.
43% of working residents work in Charleston
Where James Island clocks in
43% of workers
14% 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 many miles James Island commutes
About 16% 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.
The 2,102 jobs based in James Island
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in James Island, 2013 → 2023: 1,555 → 2,102. 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 James Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in James Island: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 5,262 residents head out to work, 208 work right here, and 1,894 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,300 people are in James Island on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.38 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.
A commute of about 23 minutes in James Island
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of James Island workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,276 commuters (the 18% 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.
Driving is how James Island gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, James Island is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #36 of 169 in South Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 6,447 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 32% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 6.0% of James Island households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of James Island’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, James Island comes 233rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Tega Cay SC | 14,457 | $142K | 1.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 231 | Granville Township OH | 10,701 | $136K | 5.1% | 2.1% | 15% | A |
| 232 | Montville Township OH | 13,517 | $142K | 5.0% | 2.7% | 4% | A |
| 233 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| 234 | Mapleton UT | 16,275 | $133K | 2.7% | 2.3% | 6% | A |
| 235 | Maidencreek Township PA | 9,309 | $112K | 4.9% | 2.1% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 727 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 927 | Murrells Inlet SC | 10,044 | $77K | 7.3% | 2.0% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | 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 James Island, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
43% of James Island works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | James Island workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Island | – | A | B+ | 23 min | $104,217 |
| Charleston | 43% | B+ | A | 24 min | $92,414 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Charleston. Darker towns draw more of James Island’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 James Island: questions
What is the median household income in James Island?
$104,217 (±$7,969) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in James Island?
5.6%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from James Island?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in James Island work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charleston (43%, 7 mi), North Charleston (14%, 14 mi), Mount Pleasant (9%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is James Island walkable?
James Island is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around James Island without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from James Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of James Island
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.