Burdette Building · Photo: Upstateherd · CC BY-SA 4.0Earning a living in Simpsonville
Only 5% work in Simpsonville itself; outside it, Greenville draws the most (23%, 10 miles). Jobs and income earn Simpsonville B+; getting around on foot earns it C+. Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Simpsonville: the gist
Simpsonville draws workers from far and wide
The 8,343 jobs in Simpsonville are filled from a wide area. Simpsonville’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 73% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Simpsonville
60% of Simpsonville residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Simpsonville pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Simpsonville
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Simpsonville is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #21 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Simpsonville could be anywhere from B to A.
Out of Simpsonville to work: where people go
Where Simpsonville clocks in
23% of workers
5% of workers
2% 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 kinds of work in Simpsonville
8,343 jobs are based in Simpsonville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Simpsonville, 2013 → 2023: 6,400 → 8,343. 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 Simpsonville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Simpsonville for work, and who comes in
On a workday 10,643 residents head out to work, 617 work right here, and 7,726 people come in from elsewhere.
About 26,000 people are in Simpsonville on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Simpsonville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Simpsonville workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,321 commuters (the 14% 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.
The commute from Simpsonville, by distance
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 Simpsonville, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Simpsonville is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns, #105 of 169 in South Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 13,236 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 11% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 2.6% of Simpsonville households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Simpsonville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Simpsonville is 609th among 1,409 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 287 | Bluffton SC | 36,807 | $111K | 4.3% | 2.2% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 573 | Hanahan SC | 22,415 | $88K | 11.7% | 2.5% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 607 | Smithfield RI | 22,625 | $102K | 6.2% | 6.0% | 15% | B+ |
| 608 | Tualatin OR | 28,139 | $104K | 10.0% | 4.4% | 14% | B+ |
| 609 | Simpsonville SC | 28,459 | $82K | 6.1% | 4.1% | 5% | B+ |
| 610 | East Pennsboro Township PA | 21,658 | $83K | 5.5% | 4.7% | 9% | B+ |
| 611 | Kaneohe HI | 37,355 | $126K | 9.7% | 4.5% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 614 | North Augusta SC | 26,982 | $86K | 6.6% | 3.8% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Simpsonville, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Simpsonville and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Fountain Inn (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Simpsonville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simpsonville | – | B+ | C+ | 22 min | $82,457 |
| Fountain Inn | 2% | B | C | 21 min | $73,585 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Simpsonville’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 Simpsonville: questions
What is the median household income in Simpsonville?
$82,457 (±$5,425) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Simpsonville?
6.1%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Simpsonville?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Simpsonville work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (23%, 10 mi), Mauldin (5%, 4 mi), Fountain Inn (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Simpsonville walkable?
Simpsonville is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Simpsonville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Simpsonville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Simpsonville
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.