Photo: Nicholemacgregor · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Lexington earn more than those in 65% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 7.4%, against 14.1% across South Carolina. Jobs and income earn Lexington B+; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in ten work in Lexington itself; outside it, Columbia draws the most (22%, 19 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 Lexington
Lexington draws workers from far and wide
The 17,165 jobs in Lexington are filled from a wide area. Lexington’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Lexington has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lexington went from 12,042 in 2013 to 17,165 in 2023, +43%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lexington
64% of Lexington residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Lexington pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 88% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Lexington gains people on a workday
About 31,000 people are in Lexington on a workday afternoon, 21% more than the 26,000 who live here: 16,000 come in to work and 10,000 head out. Day and night ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Lexington: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lexington is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #38 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Lexington’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lexington could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The towns that employ Lexington’s residents
Where Lexington clocks in
22% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
What work there is in Lexington: 17,165 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lexington, 2013 → 2023: 12,042 → 17,165. 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 Lexington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Lexington for work, and who comes in
On a workday 10,473 residents head out to work, 1,394 work right here, and 15,771 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Lexington on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.45 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Lexington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lexington workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,930 commuters (the 14% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Lexington
About 16% 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.
Lexington is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lexington is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #41 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Lexington 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 11,567 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 7% 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 7.6% of Lexington households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lexington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,576 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000, Lexington comes 823rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | Five Forks SC | 18,656 | $142K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 653 | Hanahan SC | 22,415 | $88K | 11.7% | 2.5% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 694 | Simpsonville SC | 28,459 | $82K | 6.1% | 4.1% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 821 | Rochester NH | 33,716 | $81K | 8.3% | 2.7% | 19% | B+ |
| 822 | Rancho San Diego CA | 21,272 | $119K | 10.1% | 7.1% | 4% | B+ |
| 823 | Lexington SC | 25,729 | $87K | 7.4% | 5.2% | 12% | B+ |
| 824 | Monroe NY | 24,343 | $112K | 8.8% | 5.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 825 | Powder Springs GA | 21,004 | $105K | 14.6% | 4.4% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Lexington, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Next door to Lexington
The biggest share goes to West Columbia (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lexington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington | – | B+ | B+ | 25 min | $87,126 |
| Red Bank | under 2% | C+ | C | 25 min | $68,004 |
| West Columbia | 3% | C+ | B+ | 20 min | $56,912 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lexington’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 Lexington: questions
What is the median household income in Lexington?
$87,126 (±$10,332) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lexington?
7.4%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lexington?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lexington work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (22%, 19 mi), Cayce (7%, 11 mi), West Columbia (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lexington walkable?
Lexington is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lexington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lexington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lexington
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.