Unemployment in Lugoff (1.9%) is lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
Only 8% work in Lugoff itself; outside it, Columbia draws the most (15%, 16 miles). For jobs and income Lugoff is better than 68% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−). The average commute takes 28 minutes each way, where South Carolina has 26 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Lugoff, in brief
Where Lugoff’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Unemployment holds Lugoff’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($69,485, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lugoff could be anywhere from B− to A−.
38% of the jobs in Lugoff make or build things
3,112 jobs are based in Lugoff.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lugoff, 2013 → 2023: 2,521 → 3,112. 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 Lugoff’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lugoff on a workday afternoon
On a workday 4,448 residents head out to work, 374 work right here, and 2,738 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,100 people are in Lugoff on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.65 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Where people from Lugoff work
Where Lugoff clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
From Lugoff, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lugoff workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,124 commuters (the 13% 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.
How far Lugoff’s workers travel
About 24% 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.
Getting around Lugoff: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 4,749 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). 2.1% of Lugoff households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lugoff’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,734 U.S. towns of 6,900 to 13,200, Lugoff comes 1,154th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 213 | Lake Murray of Richland SC | 7,023 | $119K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 253 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 775 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,152 | German Township IN | 10,030 | $75K | 7.4% | 3.7% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,153 | Waterford NY | 8,032 | $87K | 8.3% | 4.3% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,154 | Lugoff SC | 9,786 | $69K | 8.1% | 1.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,155 | Eden NY | 7,513 | $97K | 9.7% | 4.0% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,156 | Templeton CA | 9,580 | $117K | 4.2% | 5.7% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,734 | 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 Lugoff, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
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 Lugoff: questions
What is the median household income in Lugoff?
$69,485 (±$8,742) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lugoff?
8.1%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lugoff?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lugoff work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (15%, 16 mi), Camden (9%, 6 mi), Charlotte (4%, 69 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lugoff walkable?
Lugoff is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lugoff without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lugoff, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lugoff
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.