Photo: Calatayudboy · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Lancaster have lower incomes than those in 92% of U.S. towns
21.2% of residents live below the poverty line, against 14.1% across South Carolina. The two grades for Lancaster are D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in seven work in Lancaster; the top destination outside it is Charlotte (12%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Lancaster
Lancaster draws workers from far and wide
The 8,783 jobs in Lancaster are filled from a wide area. Lancaster’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 14%; the other 79% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Lancaster is where the jobs are
Lancaster has 8,783 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 15,000 people are in town, 52% more than the 9,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Lancaster’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lancaster is Charlotte, NC, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (456) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A lot of Lancaster workers cross into North Carolina
18% of Lancaster workers work outside South Carolina, most of them in North Carolina, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
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 Lancaster’s grade
Job access by car holds Lancaster’s grade up (ahead of 59% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (9.6%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lancaster could be anywhere from D to C+.
The towns that send workers to Lancaster
Where Lancaster clocks in
12% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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 a workday changes Lancaster
On a workday 3,211 residents head out to work, 604 work right here, and 8,179 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Lancaster on a workday afternoon, 52% more than live here.
2.3 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Lancaster
About 25% 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.
What work there is in Lancaster: 8,783 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 7,226 → 8,783. 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 Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way, about the SC average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lancaster workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,353 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.
The commute in Lancaster is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lancaster is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #69 of 169 in South Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 3,573 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). 12.4% of Lancaster households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lancaster’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lancaster compares with U.S. towns of 6,700 to 13,000
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 220 | Lake Murray of Richland SC | 7,023 | $119K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 262 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 796 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,596 | Picayune MS | 12,019 | $41K | 20.6% | 6.0% | 23% | D |
| 2,597 | East Liverpool OH | 9,569 | $34K | 32.9% | 5.9% | 14% | D |
| 2,598 | Lancaster SC | 9,623 | $46K | 21.2% | 9.6% | 16% | D |
| 2,599 | Madison Township KS | 9,403 | $56K | 10.9% | 14.4% | 4% | D |
| 2,600 | Quincy FL | 8,162 | $32K | 42.7% | 4.1% | 13% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,816 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Lancaster, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Lancaster and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Springdale (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lancaster workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | – | D | B− | 26 min | $46,311 |
| Springdale | 1% | C | B | 27 min | $41,398 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lancaster’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 Lancaster: questions
What is the median household income in Lancaster?
$46,311 (±$4,860) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lancaster?
21.2%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lancaster?
26 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 Lancaster work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charlotte (12%, 34 mi), Rock Hill (8%, 20 mi), Columbia (4%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lancaster walkable?
Lancaster is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lancaster without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lancaster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lancaster
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.