Faith Cabin Library at Anderson County Training School · Photo: KudzuVine · CC BY-SA 3.0Pendleton has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income C+: better than 42% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #75 of 168 in South Carolina.
Walkability C+: more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns · #101 of 169 in South Carolina.
Household incomes here are lower than in 71% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 24 minutes each way (South Carolina 26, U.S. 26). Only 4% work in Pendleton; the top destination outside it is Clemson (15%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Pendleton
Fewer jobs are based in Pendleton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Pendleton fell from 1,606 in 2013 to 938 in 2023, −42%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Pendleton pay little
29% of the jobs based in Pendleton pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 30% 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’s behind Pendleton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pendleton is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #75 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment holds Pendleton’s grade up (2.5%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pendleton could be anywhere from C− to B.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
938 jobs are based in Pendleton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pendleton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pendleton, 2013 → 2023: 1,606 → 938. 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.
Pendleton quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,796 residents head out to work, 72 work right here, and 866 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Pendleton on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.50 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.
15% of working residents work in Clemson
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Pendleton clocks in
8% of workers
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 24 minutes each way, about the SC average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pendleton workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,732 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.
Half of Pendleton commutes less than 12 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Pendleton start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pendleton is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #101 of 169 in South Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.0% of 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 1,990 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 81% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 17% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 10.0% of Pendleton households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pendleton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pendleton is 2,582nd of 4,318 U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Pendleton, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 519 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,580 | Mountain Home AFB ID | 3,219 | $74K | 2.2% | 5.8% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,581 | Indianola WA | 3,468 | $99K | 8.2% | 5.0% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,582 | Pendleton SC | 3,739 | $62K | 21.8% | 2.5% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,583 | Laguna Vista TX | 3,780 | $64K | 21.8% | 1.1% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,584 | Denmark Township MI | 2,704 | $71K | 7.0% | 6.7% | 5% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | 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.
17% of Pendleton works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Clemson (15%). Darker towns draw more of Pendleton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
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 Pendleton: questions
What is the median household income in Pendleton?
$61,901 (±$14,102) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pendleton?
21.8%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pendleton?
24 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 Pendleton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Clemson (15%, 3 mi), Greenville (8%, 27 mi), Anderson (8%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pendleton walkable?
Pendleton is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pendleton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 17% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pendleton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pendleton
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.