Photo: PegasusRacer28 · CC BY-SA 3.0Pacolet’s household incomes are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
15.0% of residents are in poverty (South Carolina 14.1%). The two grades for Pacolet are C for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 1% stay in Pacolet for work; outside it, Spartanburg is the main destination (18%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Pacolet: the figures worth knowing
The four measures behind Pacolet’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pacolet is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #96 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment holds Pacolet’s grade up (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($42,359, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pacolet could be anywhere from D to B.
In and out of Pacolet on a workday
On a workday 999 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 152 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Pacolet on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.16 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.
The towns that employ Pacolet’s residents
Where Pacolet clocks in
18% 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.
Goods jobs make up 33% of work in Pacolet
166 jobs are based in Pacolet.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pacolet, 2013 → 2023: 178 → 166. 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 Pacolet’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes to work from Pacolet
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pacolet workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 934 commuters (the 5% 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 Pacolet goes to work
About 19% 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.
Most trips from Pacolet start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pacolet is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns, #162 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Pacolet 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 988 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). 2.5% of Pacolet households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pacolet’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Pacolet ranks: 3,361st of 4,797 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 308 | Sullivan's Island SC | 1,961 | $193K | 8.8% | 1.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 444 | Folly Beach SC | 2,081 | $102K | 4.0% | 2.1% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 454 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,359 | Hoosick Falls NY | 3,171 | $48K | 16.1% | 2.1% | 11% | C |
| 3,360 | West Newton PA | 2,569 | $53K | 14.5% | 6.1% | 7% | C |
| 3,361 | Pacolet SC | 2,644 | $42K | 15.0% | 3.7% | 1% | C |
| 3,362 | Blanding UT | 3,199 | $72K | 16.8% | 3.4% | 53% | C |
| 3,363 | Union Township OH | 2,117 | $56K | 14.9% | 12.2% | 1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Pacolet, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
How Pacolet compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pacolet workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacolet | – | C | D | 27 min | $42,359 |
| Central Pacolet | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Central Pacolet: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pacolet’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 Pacolet: questions
What is the median household income in Pacolet?
$42,359 (±$11,054) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pacolet?
15.0%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pacolet?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pacolet work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spartanburg (18%, 10 mi), Greenville (4%, 34 mi), Southern Shops (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pacolet walkable?
Pacolet is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pacolet 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 Pacolet, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pacolet
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.