Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0West Union draws 370 commuters a day, with 2.7 jobs for every working resident
Employers in West Union report 373 jobs, against 139 working residents. Only 2% work in West Union; the top destination outside it is Greenville (7%, 39 miles). Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers (South Carolina 12%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of West Union
On a workday 136 residents head out to work and 3 work right here.
About 630 people are in West Union on a workday afternoon, 59% more 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.
The daily trip into West Union
Where West Union clocks in
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 West Union
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Union, 2013 → 2023: 323 → 373. 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 West Union’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way for West Union’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Union workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 156 commuters (the 2% 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.
Half of West Union commutes less than 12 miles
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.
How West Union compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Walhalla (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Union workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Union | – | — | — | 24 min | $48,393 |
| Walhalla | 6% | D | C | 32 min | $36,327 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Union’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 West Union: questions
What is the median household income in West Union?
$48,393 (±$8,954) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Union?
6.2%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Union?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Union work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (7%, 39 mi), Walhalla (6%, 1 mi), Clemson (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around West Union without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Union, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Union
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.