Households in Saxon earn less than in almost any other U.S. town
Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. 45.8% of residents are in poverty; South Carolina has 14.1%. The two grades for Saxon are D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Saxon
Commutes from Saxon are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 26 across South Carolina. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Carolina worker, and quicker than any town next door (20 to 27 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Saxon makes and builds things
44% of the jobs based in Saxon are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Saxon residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 24%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Saxon pay better than its residents’ jobs
59% of the jobs based in Saxon pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 43% of the jobs Saxon residents hold. 96% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Saxon. The jobs ↓
Saxon has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Saxon went from 508 in 2013 to 703 in 2023, +38%. The jobs ↓
Few Saxon workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 12% across South Carolina. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Saxon gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Saxon is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #134 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Saxon’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Saxon could be anywhere from D to C+.
Each way, about 16 minutes from Saxon
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saxon workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,617 commuters (the 4% 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.
Saxon makes things: 44% of its jobs are in goods
703 jobs are based in Saxon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saxon, 2013 → 2023: 508 → 703. 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 Saxon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Saxon, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,316 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 676 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Saxon on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.52 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.
13% of working residents work in Spartanburg
Where Saxon clocks in
13% of workers
7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Saxon
About 21% 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.
In Saxon, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Saxon is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #43 of 169 in South Carolina. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.4% across South Carolina, on an EPA index of 7.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,680 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). 10.5% of Saxon households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Saxon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Saxon next to U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500: 3,583rd of 4,023 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 502 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,581 | St. Martinville LA | 5,229 | $36K | 22.3% | 9.0% | 10% | D |
| 3,582 | Ellenville NY | 4,201 | $43K | 35.0% | 4.5% | 14% | D |
| 3,583 | Saxon SC | 4,085 | $32K | 45.8% | 8.1% | 2% | D |
| 3,584 | Lowville NY | 3,309 | $68K | 17.5% | 7.7% | 22% | D |
| 3,585 | Myrtle Creek OR | 3,481 | $56K | 16.2% | 5.9% | 7% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | 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 Saxon, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Next door is work for 18% of Saxon
The biggest share goes to Spartanburg (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saxon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saxon | – | D | B+ | 16 min | $32,292 |
| Arcadia | under 2% | C− | C+ | 21 min | $55,218 |
| Spartanburg | 13% | C− | B+ | 20 min | $51,964 |
| Hilltop | 2% | C+ | C+ | 27 min | $37,444 |
| Southern Shops | 3% | D | C− | 22 min | $37,754 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Saxon’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 Saxon: questions
What is the median household income in Saxon?
$32,292 (±$9,656) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saxon?
45.8%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saxon?
16 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saxon work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spartanburg (13%, 3 mi), Greenville (7%, 24 mi), Southern Shops (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Saxon walkable?
Saxon is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saxon without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saxon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saxon
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.