Photo: Excel23 · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Williamston (7.9%) than in 88% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Williamston; the top destination outside it is Greenville (13%, 16 miles). Williamston grades C for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. For 4% of workers, the job is at home (South Carolina 12%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Williamston, in brief
Jobs & income in Williamston: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Williamston is better than 30% of U.S. towns, #90 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Williamston’s grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Williamston could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The daily trip from Williamston: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Williamston workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,812 commuters (the 4% 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.
Williamston fills up on a workday
On a workday 1,654 residents head out to work, 153 work right here, and 2,446 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,100 people are in Williamston on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 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.
Out of Williamston to work: where people go
Where Williamston clocks in
13% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
In Williamston, services account for most jobs
2,599 jobs are based in Williamston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Williamston, 2013 → 2023: 2,198 → 2,599. 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 Williamston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Williamston to work
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.
Getting around Williamston: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Williamston is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #110 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Williamston 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 1,890 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). 5.5% of Williamston households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Williamston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,900, Williamston ranks 2,982nd of 4,136 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Isle of Palms SC | 4,377 | $157K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | India Hook SC | 3,960 | $107K | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 682 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,980 | Running Springs CA | 4,917 | $82K | 15.5% | 7.4% | 5% | C |
| 2,981 | Watergate FL | 3,782 | $67K | 21.9% | 8.7% | 1% | C |
| 2,982 | Williamston SC | 4,338 | $64K | 13.5% | 7.9% | 8% | C |
| 2,983 | Lawrence Township MI | 3,294 | $64K | 19.5% | 4.0% | 11% | C |
| 2,984 | Moriah NY | 4,287 | $63K | 14.5% | 2.2% | 22% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,136 | 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 Williamston, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
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 Williamston: questions
What is the median household income in Williamston?
$64,389 (±$11,973) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Williamston?
13.5%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Williamston?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Williamston work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (13%, 16 mi), Anderson (7%, 12 mi), Mauldin (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Williamston walkable?
Williamston is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Williamston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Williamston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Williamston
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.