Tombee Plantation · Photo: Gwringle · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Port Royal (1.0%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 14 minutes getting to work on average, next to 26 for South Carolina and 26 for the U.S. Port Royal grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Only 6% stay in Port Royal for work; outside it, Beaufort is the main destination (20%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Port Royal, in brief
Commutes from Port Royal are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 26 across South Carolina. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Carolina worker, and quicker than any town next door (18 to 26 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Port Royal and Beaufort trade workers both ways
Beaufort is the top workplace for Port Royal residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Port Royal come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Port Royal gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Port Royal is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #35 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment holds Port Royal’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 40% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Port Royal could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The trip to work from Port Royal: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Port Royal workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,334 commuters (the 12% 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 Port Royal goes to work
Where Port Royal clocks in
20% of workers
6% 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.
The commute from Port Royal, by distance
About 30% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The daily flow of workers through Port Royal
On a workday 3,677 residents head out to work, 248 work right here, and 2,165 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.
0.61 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 2024, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Port Royal
2,413 jobs are based in Port Royal.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Port Royal, 2014 → 2024: 1,942 → 2,413. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Port Royal’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Port Royal is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Port Royal is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #14 of 169 in South Carolina. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 12.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.4% across South Carolina, on an EPA index of 7.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,440 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). 4.7% of Port Royal households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Port Royal’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Port Royal is 916th among 1,888 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Tega Cay SC | 14,457 | $142K | 1.5% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 142 | Five Forks SC | 18,656 | $142K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 914 | Yelm WA | 12,043 | $91K | 6.1% | 3.8% | 6% | B+ |
| 915 | New Paltz NY | 15,636 | $83K | 22.0% | 8.2% | 19% | B+ |
| 916 | Port Royal SC | 16,648 | $75K | 8.4% | 1.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 917 | Bradley IL | 15,214 | $67K | 7.7% | 2.9% | 14% | B+ |
| 918 | Taylor TX | 18,402 | $76K | 7.7% | 4.1% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,888 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Port Royal, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
The towns next door employ 28% of Port Royal
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Port Royal workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Royal | – | B+ | A− | 14 min | $74,870 |
| Burton | 8% | B− | C | 26 min | $68,063 |
| Shell Point | under 2% | B+ | C− | 20 min | $81,630 |
| Beaufort | 20% | C+ | A− | 18 min | $61,220 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Beaufort. Darker towns draw more of Port Royal’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 2024, 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 Port Royal: questions
What is the median household income in Port Royal?
$74,870 (±$11,108) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Port Royal?
8.4%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Port Royal?
14 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Port Royal work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beaufort (20%, 7 mi), Burton (8%, 5 mi), Hilton Head Island (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Port Royal walkable?
Port Royal is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Port Royal without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Port Royal, from the people who make the trip.
More of Port Royal
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.