Ladson has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
There are 3,033 jobs in Ladson, and 6,606 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Ladson B−; getting around on foot earns it C+. Only 2% work in Ladson; the top destination outside it is North Charleston (29%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Ladson, in brief
A lot of Ladson works one town over
33% of working residents work in a town that borders Ladson: North Charleston (29%) and Goose Creek (4%). Next door ↓
Ladson has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Ladson went from 1,946 in 2013 to 3,033 in 2023, +56%. The jobs ↓
Ladson makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Ladson are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Ladson residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Ladson 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 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Ladson
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ladson is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #57 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Ladson’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ladson could be anywhere from C to A−.
Ladson works in goods: 38% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ladson, 2013 → 2023: 1,946 → 3,033. 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 Ladson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Ladson: 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 Ladson workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,103 commuters (the 11% 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.
Who works in Ladson, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,449 residents head out to work, 157 work right here, and 2,876 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Ladson on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Ladson work
Where Ladson clocks in
29% of workers
15% of workers
7% 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 Ladson goes to work
About 17% 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 commute in Ladson is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ladson is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns, #107 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Ladson near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,005 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 6.1% of Ladson households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ladson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,220 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000, Ladson comes 1,379th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Tega Cay SC | 14,457 | $142K | 1.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Five Forks SC | 18,656 | $142K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 227 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,377 | Dover OH | 12,947 | $64K | 11.5% | 3.5% | 22% | B− |
| 1,378 | Columbia Township IN | 12,082 | $70K | 12.8% | 3.3% | 17% | B− |
| 1,379 | Ladson SC | 16,140 | $79K | 12.3% | 5.3% | 2% | B− |
| 1,380 | Two Rivers WI | 11,222 | $57K | 11.8% | 1.7% | 20% | B− |
| 1,381 | Whitewater WI | 16,038 | $55K | 26.8% | 5.3% | 22% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | 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 Ladson, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Bordering towns draw 33% of Ladson’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ladson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladson | – | B− | C+ | 31 min | $78,760 |
| North Charleston | 29% | B− | A− | 25 min | $62,956 |
| Goose Creek | 4% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $88,178 |
| Sangaree | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 30 min | $77,673 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to North Charleston. Darker towns draw more of Ladson’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 Ladson: questions
What is the median household income in Ladson?
$78,760 (±$17,308) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ladson?
12.3%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ladson?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ladson work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Charleston (29%, 7 mi), Charleston (15%, 15 mi), Summerville (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ladson walkable?
Ladson is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ladson without a car?
0% 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 Ladson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ladson
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.