Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0Work and commuting in Summerton
The trip to work takes 39 minutes on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. Only 3% stay in Summerton for work; outside it, Sumter is the main destination (8%, 24 miles). There are 216 jobs in Summerton, against 287 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Summerton, in brief
Summerton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 26 across South Carolina. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Summerton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Summerton is Sumter, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (22) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 287 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Each way, about 39 minutes from Summerton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Summerton workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 271 commuters (the 10% 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.
How far Summerton goes to work
About 38% 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.
A workday in Summerton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 277 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 206 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 (0.75 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.
Where Summerton goes to work
Where Summerton clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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 Summerton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Summerton, 2013 → 2023: 216 → 216. 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 Summerton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Summerton: questions
What is the median household income in Summerton?
$40,469 (±$27,164) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Summerton?
24.2%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Summerton?
39 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Summerton work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sumter (8%, 24 mi), Manning (7%, 10 mi), North Charleston (6%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Summerton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 24% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Summerton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Summerton
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.