At 1.6%, unemployment in Northlake is lower than in 89% of U.S. towns
Northlake grades A− for jobs and income and C for walkability. The average commute takes 24 minutes each way (South Carolina 26, U.S. 26). Household incomes here are higher than in 67% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Northlake in brief
Stores, warehouses and trucking
50% of the jobs in Northlake are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Northlake
56% of Northlake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 32% of the jobs based in Northlake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Northlake pay little
27% of the jobs based in Northlake pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 33% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Northlake
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northlake is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #16 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Northlake could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Inside Northlake’s 2,149 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northlake, 2013 → 2023: 2,683 → 2,149. 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 Northlake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,700 residents head out to work, 42 work right here, and 2,107 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 (1.23 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.
19% of working residents work in Anderson
Where Northlake clocks in
19% of workers
10% 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.
Time on the road from Northlake: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northlake workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,973 commuters (the 7% 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.
Where in the region Northlake works
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.
In Northlake, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northlake is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns, #129 of 169 in South Carolina. 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 2,123 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.1% of Northlake households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Northlake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Northlake is 818th of 3,908 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 5,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 654 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 816 | McKean Township PA | 4,340 | $84K | 2.0% | 3.4% | 6% | A− |
| 817 | Sugar Creek Township OH | 4,369 | $81K | 1.6% | 3.0% | 15% | A− |
| 818 | Northlake SC | 4,390 | $90K | 8.8% | 1.6% | 2% | A− |
| 819 | Port Sheldon Township MI | 5,480 | $107K | 2.6% | 5.2% | 2% | A− |
| 820 | Washington Township PA | 3,175 | $89K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,908 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Northlake, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Work next door: 19% of Northlake’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Anderson. Darker towns draw more of Northlake’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 Northlake: questions
What is the median household income in Northlake?
$89,635 (±$16,391) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northlake?
8.8%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northlake?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northlake work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Anderson (19%, 4 mi), Greenville (10%, 26 mi), Clemson (5%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northlake walkable?
Northlake is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northlake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northlake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northlake
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.