Surfside Beach has higher unemployment (8.6%) than 91% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Surfside Beach C; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in ten work in Surfside Beach; the top destination outside it is Myrtle Beach (18%, 9 miles). A typical one-way commute from Surfside Beach lasts 20 minutes (South Carolina 26, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Surfside Beach
Surfside Beach is where the jobs are
Surfside Beach has 2,788 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Surfside Beach are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across South Carolina. That’s about 46 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.
The figures behind Surfside Beach’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Surfside Beach is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #98 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Surfside Beach’s grade up (ahead of 63% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Surfside Beach could be anywhere from C− to B.
Who leaves Surfside Beach for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,433 residents head out to work, 178 work right here, and 2,610 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Surfside Beach on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 20 minutes to work from Surfside Beach
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Surfside Beach workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,426 commuters (the 13% 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.
Where the people who work in Surfside Beach live
Where Surfside Beach clocks in
18% 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.
What work there is in Surfside Beach: 2,788 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Surfside Beach, 2013 → 2023: 2,618 → 2,788. 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 Surfside Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Surfside Beach
About 24% 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 Surfside Beach commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Surfside Beach is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #47 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 1,633 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). 2.5% of Surfside Beach households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Surfside Beach’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,908 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 5,900, Surfside Beach comes 2,939th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 654 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,937 | Fox Farm-College WY | 4,019 | $49K | 15.6% | 4.4% | 5% | C |
| 2,938 | Midway North TX | 3,594 | $58K | 19.6% | 6.8% | <1% | C |
| 2,939 | Surfside Beach SC | 4,392 | $70K | 16.8% | 8.6% | 11% | C |
| 2,940 | Nash TX | 4,269 | $51K | 13.8% | 5.5% | 5% | C |
| 2,941 | Caledonia Township MI | 4,323 | $70K | 12.8% | 8.3% | 8% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,908 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Surfside Beach, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Surfside Beach and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Garden City (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Surfside Beach workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surfside Beach | – | C | B+ | 20 min | $70,106 |
| Garden City | 4% | C− | B− | 22 min | $47,249 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Surfside Beach’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 Surfside Beach: questions
What is the median household income in Surfside Beach?
$70,106 (±$7,736) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Surfside Beach?
16.8%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Surfside Beach?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Surfside Beach work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Myrtle Beach (18%, 9 mi), Conway (7%, 16 mi), Murrells Inlet (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Surfside Beach walkable?
Surfside Beach is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Surfside Beach without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Surfside Beach, from the people who make the trip.
More of Surfside Beach
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.