Households in Whitney have lower incomes than those in 86% of U.S. towns
Whitney grades B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Poverty touches 17.6% of residents, against 14.1% across South Carolina. Only 2% work in Whitney; the top destination outside it is Spartanburg (19%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Whitney
Whitney has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Whitney went from 815 in 2013 to 1,330 in 2023, +63%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Whitney 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 ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Whitney
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Whitney is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #63 of 168 in South Carolina. Unemployment holds Whitney’s grade up (2.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($51,275, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Whitney could be anywhere from C to A−.
The kinds of work in Whitney
1,330 jobs are based in Whitney.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whitney, 2013 → 2023: 815 → 1,330. 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 Whitney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Whitney: about 21 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whitney workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,960 commuters (the 6% 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.
Whitney quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,769 residents head out to work, 29 work right here, and 1,301 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Whitney on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
Commuting out of Whitney: the destinations
Where Whitney clocks in
19% 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.
How far Whitney’s workers travel
About 16% 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 trips from Whitney start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Whitney is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #125 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Whitney near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,096 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). 7.9% of Whitney households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Whitney’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,312th of 4,318: where Whitney ranks among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 519 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,310 | Green Township OH | 2,681 | $80K | 10.3% | 6.0% | 5% | B− |
| 2,311 | Union Township PA | 3,684 | $65K | 9.7% | 1.8% | 25% | B− |
| 2,312 | Whitney SC | 3,685 | $51K | 17.6% | 2.0% | 2% | B− |
| 2,313 | Oak Grove TN | 4,626 | $72K | 7.1% | 7.4% | 3% | B− |
| 2,314 | Gramercy LA | 2,689 | $68K | 11.2% | 4.9% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | 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 Whitney, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Bordering towns draw 24% of Whitney’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Whitney workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitney | – | B− | C | 21 min | $51,275 |
| Spartanburg | 19% | C− | B+ | 20 min | $51,964 |
| Drayton | 2% | C+ | D | 27 min | $77,813 |
| Hilltop | 1% | C+ | C+ | 27 min | $37,444 |
| Valley Falls | 2% | C+ | B− | 22 min | $55,661 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Spartanburg. Darker towns draw more of Whitney’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 Whitney: questions
What is the median household income in Whitney?
$51,275 (±$10,390) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whitney?
17.6%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whitney?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whitney work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spartanburg (19%, 3 mi), Greenville (6%, 27 mi), Southern Shops (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Whitney walkable?
Whitney is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Whitney without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whitney, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whitney
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.