Laurel Bay has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Household incomes here are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns. Employers in Laurel Bay report 313 jobs, and 1,184 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Laurel Bay C−; getting around on foot earns it D.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Laurel Bay, in a few figures
Laurel Bay is a place people come home to
There are 313 jobs based in Laurel Bay, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Few Laurel Bay workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 12% across South Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A young workforce
31% of Laurel Bay’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in Laurel Bay are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
The four measures behind Laurel Bay’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Laurel Bay is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #117 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment holds Laurel Bay’s grade up (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($54,345, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Laurel Bay could be anywhere from D− to B.
Who works in Laurel Bay, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,153 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 282 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,000 people are in Laurel Bay on a workday afternoon, 15% 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.
About 28 minutes each way for Laurel Bay’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laurel Bay workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,357 commuters (the 1% 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 kinds of work in Laurel Bay
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laurel Bay, 2013 → 2023: 169 → 313. 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 Laurel Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Laurel Bay
About 35% 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.
16% of working residents work in Beaufort
Where Laurel Bay clocks in
16% 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.
Driving is how Laurel Bay gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Laurel Bay is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns, #167 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Laurel Bay 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 2,382 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). 4.6% of Laurel Bay households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Laurel Bay’s commuters take a bus or train.
Laurel Bay is 2,870th of 3,432 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 215 | Lake Murray of Richland SC | 7,023 | $119K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 703 | Baxter Village SC | 4,542 | $152K | 9.2% | 4.1% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,868 | Conley GA | 5,822 | $44K | 35.8% | 8.5% | <1% | C− |
| 2,869 | Alma AR | 6,071 | $69K | 27.3% | 7.6% | 15% | C− |
| 2,870 | Laurel Bay SC | 5,882 | $54K | 17.5% | 4.5% | 3% | C− |
| 2,871 | Crestline OH | 4,487 | $52K | 14.4% | 6.6% | 8% | C− |
| 2,872 | Tioga NY | 4,291 | $69K | 11.3% | 10.4% | 6% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Laurel Bay, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Bordering towns draw 24% of Laurel Bay’s workers
The biggest share goes to Beaufort (16%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Laurel Bay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel Bay | – | C− | D | 28 min | $54,345 |
| Beaufort | 16% | C+ | A− | 18 min | $61,220 |
| Burton | 8% | B− | C | 26 min | $68,063 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Laurel Bay’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 Laurel Bay: questions
What is the median household income in Laurel Bay?
$54,345 (±$17,949) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laurel Bay?
17.5%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laurel Bay?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laurel Bay work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beaufort (16%, 4 mi), Burton (8%, 4 mi), Port Royal (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Laurel Bay walkable?
Laurel Bay is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Laurel Bay without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Laurel Bay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laurel Bay
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.