Photo: KudzuVine · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Seneca (8.9%) is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Seneca is better than 10% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (B). Household incomes here are lower than in 85% of U.S. towns. Only 8% work in Seneca; the top destination outside it is Clemson (8%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Seneca: the figures worth knowing
Seneca trades workers with the towns around it
Seneca has about as many jobs (3,431) as working residents (3,428), but they are mostly different people: 3,169 residents leave for work each day while 3,172 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Seneca are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Seneca 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. Time on the road ↓
No single place dominates Seneca’s commute
The biggest draw, Clemson, gets only 8% of working residents, and 63% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Seneca residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Seneca than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Seneca fell from 5,194 in 2013 to 3,431 in 2023, −34%. 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 ↓
Few Seneca 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.
The four measures behind Seneca’s grade
Job access by car holds Seneca’s grade up (ahead of 46% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Seneca could be anywhere from D to C.
Who commutes out of Seneca, and who commutes in
On a workday 3,169 residents head out to work, 259 work right here, and 3,172 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 (1.00 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.
Commuting from Seneca: about 16 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seneca workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,010 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.
Commuting out of Seneca: the destinations
Where Seneca clocks in
8% of workers
5% 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.
What Seneca’s employers do
3,431 jobs are based in Seneca.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seneca, 2013 → 2023: 5,194 → 3,431. 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 Seneca’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Seneca
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 of Seneca commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 4,194 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 43% 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 3.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 7.5% of Seneca households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Seneca’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Seneca sits among U.S. towns of 6,600 to 12,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Lake Murray of Richland SC | 7,023 | $119K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 262 | James Island SC | 12,660 | $104K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 791 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,623 | Lamar CO | 7,588 | $53K | 21.3% | 4.8% | 49% | D |
| 2,624 | Poteau OK | 9,171 | $51K | 19.8% | 6.1% | 34% | D |
| 2,625 | Seneca SC | 9,424 | $52K | 22.1% | 8.9% | 8% | D |
| 2,626 | Savannah TN | 7,689 | $40K | 29.8% | 4.5% | 33% | D |
| 2,627 | Arkadelphia AR | 9,916 | $49K | 28.9% | 4.2% | 36% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,806 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Seneca, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
The towns around Seneca
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Seneca’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 Seneca: questions
What is the median household income in Seneca?
$52,022 (±$8,158) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seneca?
22.1%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seneca?
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 Seneca work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Clemson (8%, 9 mi), Greenville (8%, 36 mi), Walhalla (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Seneca walkable?
Seneca is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Seneca without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Seneca, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seneca
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.