Household incomes in Judson are lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 20% of workers (South Carolina 12%). Poverty touches 42.9% of residents, against 14.1% across South Carolina. Judson grades D for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Judson stands out on work
Fewer jobs are based in Judson than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Judson fell from 4,972 in 2013 to 442 in 2023, −91%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
31% of Judson works in Greenville
285 working residents, 31%, have their main job in Greenville, 3.7 miles away across the town line. That’s 31 times as many as work in Judson itself. The commute map ↓
Most Judson residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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 907 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Judson earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Judson is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #135 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Judson’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (18.5%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Judson could be anywhere from D to C−.
Services make up most of the work in Judson
442 jobs are based in Judson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Judson, 2013 → 2023: 4,972 → 442. 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 Judson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
31% of working residents work in Greenville
Where Judson clocks in
31% 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 many miles Judson commutes
About 15% 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.
Judson quiets down on a workday
On a workday 902 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 437 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Judson on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
About 26 minutes each way for Judson’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Judson workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 860 commuters (the 20% 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.
Judson is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Judson is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #84 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 1,079 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 7.0% of Judson households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Judson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Judson next to U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,400: 4,130th of 4,868 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 309 | Sullivan's Island SC | 1,961 | $193K | 8.8% | 1.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 435 | Folly Beach SC | 2,081 | $102K | 4.0% | 2.1% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 444 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,128 | Austin Township MI | 1,805 | $64K | 17.2% | 2.1% | 1% | D |
| 4,129 | University Park NM | 2,782 | $30K | 30.2% | 14.0% | 6% | D |
| 4,130 | Judson SC | 2,515 | $39K | 42.9% | 18.5% | 1% | D |
| 4,131 | Providence KY | 2,872 | $55K | 19.9% | 5.6% | 12% | D |
| 4,132 | New London OH | 2,368 | $50K | 15.3% | 8.2% | 14% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,868 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Judson, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
33% of Judson works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Greenville (31%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Judson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judson | – | D | B− | 26 min | $38,646 |
| Greenville | 31% | B− | A | 19 min | $71,472 |
| Dunean | under 2% | C− | A− | 23 min | $48,553 |
| Welcome | under 2% | B− | B | 28 min | $66,094 |
| Parker | 2% | C− | B+ | 24 min | $40,043 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Judson’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 Judson: questions
What is the median household income in Judson?
$38,646 (±$11,576) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Judson?
42.9%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Judson?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Judson work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (31%, 4 mi), Mauldin (5%, 8 mi), Wade Hampton (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Judson walkable?
Judson is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Judson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Judson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Judson
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.