Photo: Ron Osborne · Public domainSocastee has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Household incomes here are lower than in 70% of U.S. towns. 3,651 jobs are based in Socastee, and 9,154 of its residents work somewhere. Socastee grades B− 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
The short version on getting to work from Socastee
Fewer jobs are based in Socastee than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Socastee fell from 5,068 in 2013 to 3,651 in 2023, −28%. 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 ↓
Commutes from Socastee are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 26 across South Carolina. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Socastee workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Socastee’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Socastee
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Socastee is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #61 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Socastee’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($62,257, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Socastee could be anywhere from C to B+.
The kinds of work in Socastee
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Socastee, 2013 → 2023: 5,068 → 3,651. 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 Socastee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 21 minutes each way for Socastee’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Socastee workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,210 commuters (the 9% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Socastee
On a workday 8,643 residents head out to work, 511 work right here, and 3,140 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Socastee on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
26% of working residents work in Myrtle Beach
Where Socastee clocks in
26% of workers
9% of workers
3% 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.
Miles to work from Socastee
About 20% 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.
The commute in Socastee is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Socastee is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #77 of 169 in South Carolina. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 11,180 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). 4.3% of Socastee households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Socastee’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,577 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 32,000, Socastee comes 1,081st on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Five Forks SC | 18,656 | $142K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 646 | Hanahan SC | 22,415 | $88K | 11.7% | 2.5% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 687 | Simpsonville SC | 28,459 | $82K | 6.1% | 4.1% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,079 | Center Township IN | 25,168 | $68K | 13.8% | 3.5% | 22% | B− |
| 1,080 | Badger AK | 18,677 | $97K | 4.2% | 7.1% | — | B− |
| 1,081 | Socastee SC | 23,796 | $62K | 12.6% | 3.5% | 6% | B− |
| 1,082 | Sunny Isles Beach FL | 22,395 | $62K | 14.3% | 4.6% | 9% | B− |
| 1,083 | Calhoun GA | 20,196 | $59K | 14.1% | 2.3% | 31% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,577 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Socastee, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Socastee and its neighbors: 26% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Socastee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socastee | – | B− | B− | 21 min | $62,257 |
| Myrtle Beach | 26% | C | A− | 18 min | $60,394 |
| Red Hill | under 2% | C | B− | 22 min | $68,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Myrtle Beach. Darker towns draw more of Socastee’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 Socastee: questions
What is the median household income in Socastee?
$62,257 (±$8,778) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Socastee?
12.6%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Socastee?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Socastee work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Myrtle Beach (26%, 7 mi), Conway (9%, 10 mi), North Myrtle Beach (3%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Socastee walkable?
Socastee is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Socastee without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Socastee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Socastee
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.