Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Kershaw trail those of 60% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Kershaw are C for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Poverty touches 15.0% of residents, where South Carolina as a whole has 14.1%. Only 6% work in Kershaw; the top destination outside it is Lancaster (11%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Kershaw stands out on work
Many jobs in Kershaw pay little
32% of the jobs based in Kershaw pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Kershaw
57% of Kershaw residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Kershaw pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Kershaw workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across South Carolina. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 812 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Kershaw: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Kershaw is better than 25% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Kershaw’s grade.
Unemployment (1.6%) is left out: Kershaw’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Kershaw could be anywhere from D to B−.
What the 564 jobs in Kershaw are
564 jobs are based in Kershaw.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kershaw, 2014 → 2024: 494 → 564. 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 Kershaw’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Kershaw: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kershaw workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 885 commuters (the 6% 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.
In and out of Kershaw on a workday
On a workday 765 residents head out to work, 47 work right here, and 517 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Kershaw on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.69 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where Kershaw goes to work
Where Kershaw clocks in
11% 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 Kershaw goes to work
About 20% 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.
Driving is how Kershaw gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kershaw is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of 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 940 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). 7.2% of Kershaw households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kershaw’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Kershaw ranks: 3,923rd of 5,793 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800
| # | 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% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 313 | Pimlico SC | 1,765 | $137K | 4.8% | 0.0% | 0% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 319 | Sullivan's Island SC | 1,961 | $193K | 8.8% | 1.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 453 | Folly Beach SC | 2,081 | $102K | 4.0% | 2.1% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,921 | Glenmoor OH | 1,590 | $74K | 20.4% | 6.8% | 3% | C |
| 3,922 | Braddock PA | 1,647 | $38K | 27.5% | 33.6% | 4% | C |
| 3,923 | Kershaw SC | 2,038 | $69K | 15.0% | 1.6% | 6% | C |
| 3,924 | Cave Township IL | 1,649 | $63K | 11.2% | 7.2% | 4% | C |
| 3,925 | Lincoln Township KS | 2,730 | $56K | 9.0% | 5.3% | 20% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Kershaw, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
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 Kershaw: questions
What is the median household income in Kershaw?
$68,693 (±$11,739) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kershaw?
15.0%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kershaw?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kershaw work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lancaster (11%, 17 mi), Charlotte (5%, 48 mi), Columbia (5%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Kershaw walkable?
Kershaw is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kershaw without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kershaw, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kershaw
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. 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.