Households in South Sumter have lower incomes than those in 92% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 29.8% of residents (South Carolina 14.1%). The two grades for South Sumter are D for jobs and income and C− for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 16 minutes (South Carolina 26, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where South Sumter stands out on work
Fewer jobs are based in South Sumter than ten years ago
Jobs counted in South Sumter fell from 1,168 in 2013 to 384 in 2023, −67%. 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 ↓
South Sumter and Sumter trade workers both ways
Sumter is the top workplace for South Sumter residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in South Sumter come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from South Sumter 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 ↓
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; with 716 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind South Sumter’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, South Sumter is better than 13% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds South Sumter’s grade up (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (11.4%) is left out: South Sumter’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, South Sumter could be anywhere from D to C.
Goods jobs make up 33% of work in South Sumter
384 jobs are based in South Sumter.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Sumter, 2013 → 2023: 1,168 → 384. 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 South Sumter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
24% of working residents work in Sumter
Where South Sumter clocks in
24% of workers
8% 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.
Getting to work from South Sumter takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Sumter workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 682 commuters (the 15% 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.
South Sumter quiets down on a workday
On a workday 707 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 375 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in South Sumter on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.54 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.
How far South Sumter goes to work
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.
For most of South Sumter, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Sumter is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 806 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 16.1% of South Sumter households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of South Sumter’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, South Sumter is 4,837th among 6,161 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 284 | Pimlico SC | 1,765 | $137K | 4.8% | 0.0% | 0% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 289 | Sullivan's Island SC | 1,961 | $193K | 8.8% | 1.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 398 | Folly Beach SC | 2,081 | $102K | 4.0% | 2.1% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,835 | Carthage Township OH | 1,464 | $54K | 11.4% | 2.8% | <1% | D |
| 4,836 | Oil Creek Township PA | 1,657 | $66K | 16.9% | 8.0% | 8% | D |
| 4,837 | South Sumter SC | 1,626 | $46K | 29.8% | 11.4% | 1% | D |
| 4,838 | Graniteville SC | 2,056 | $39K | 37.3% | 11.1% | 2% | D |
| 4,839 | Mountain Village CO | 1,234 | $53K | 21.6% | 4.3% | 49% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 South Sumter, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Next door is work for 24% of South Sumter
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Sumter workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Sumter | – | D | C− | 16 min | $46,406 |
| Sumter | 24% | C− | B | 20 min | $55,592 |
| Lakewood | under 1% | C | C− | 29 min | $56,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Sumter. Darker towns draw more of South Sumter’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 South Sumter: questions
What is the median household income in South Sumter?
$46,406 (±$9,308) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Sumter?
29.8%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Sumter?
16 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Sumter work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sumter (24%, 5 mi), Columbia (8%, 34 mi), Florence (2%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is South Sumter walkable?
South Sumter is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Sumter without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Sumter, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Sumter
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.