Households in Little River earn less than those in 65% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Little River is better than 42% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (B−). Poverty touches 12.7% of residents, next to 14.1% for South Carolina as a whole. At 25 minutes each way, commutes from Little River run about the South Carolina average.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Little River at work: what stands out
Little River and North Myrtle Beach trade workers both ways
North Myrtle Beach is the top workplace for Little River residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Little River come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Little River has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Little River went from 2,523 in 2013 to 3,443 in 2023, +36%. The jobs ↓
Little River’s workforce skews older
36% of Little River’s working residents are 55 or older. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Little River gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Job access by car holds Little River’s grade up (ahead of 55% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($65,786, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Little River could be anywhere from C− to B+.
20% of working residents work in North Myrtle Beach
Where Little River clocks in
20% of workers
12% 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.
What the 3,443 jobs in Little River are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Little River, 2013 → 2023: 2,523 → 3,443. 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 Little River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Little River by day and by night
On a workday 3,661 residents head out to work, 426 work right here, and 3,017 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 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.
The daily trip from Little River: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Little River workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,744 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.
The commute from Little River, by distance
About 26% 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.
Few in Little River walk, bike or ride to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,356 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). 2.9% of Little River households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Little River’s commuters take a bus or train.
Little River is 1,816th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Tega Cay SC | 14,457 | $142K | 1.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 265 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 825 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,814 | Webster TX | 12,507 | $61K | 13.7% | 6.5% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,815 | Port Neches TX | 13,768 | $82K | 13.1% | 7.4% | 13% | C+ |
| 1,816 | Little River SC | 11,771 | $66K | 12.7% | 4.2% | 10% | C+ |
| 1,817 | Spencer MA | 12,173 | $81K | 11.0% | 7.1% | 10% | C+ |
| 1,818 | Richland Township PA | 11,936 | $73K | 10.7% | 5.7% | 23% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Little River, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
20% of Little River works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Little River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little River | – | C+ | B− | 25 min | $65,786 |
| North Myrtle Beach | 20% | B | A− | 22 min | $72,722 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to North Myrtle Beach. Darker towns draw more of Little River’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 Little River: questions
What is the median household income in Little River?
$65,786 (±$7,900) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Little River?
12.7%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Little River?
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 Little River work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Myrtle Beach (20%, 6 mi), Myrtle Beach (12%, 18 mi), Conway (7%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Little River walkable?
Little River is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Little River without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Little River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Little River
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.