Photo: Evanoco · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Winnsboro are lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Winnsboro; the top destination outside it is Columbia (11%, 25 miles). 12.8% of residents are in poverty, next to 14.1% for South Carolina as a whole. Jobs and income earn Winnsboro C−; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Winnsboro in brief
Winnsboro trades workers with the towns around it
Winnsboro has about as many jobs (1,237) as working residents (1,451), but they are mostly different people: 1,289 residents leave for work each day while 1,075 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Winnsboro are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Winnsboro’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Winnsboro is Columbia, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (164) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer than half of Winnsboro workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Winnsboro’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 16% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Winnsboro’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Winnsboro is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #123 of 168 in South Carolina. Job access by car holds Winnsboro’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($37,434, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Winnsboro could be anywhere from D to B−.
In and out of Winnsboro on a workday
On a workday 1,289 residents head out to work, 162 work right here, and 1,075 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 (0.85 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.
How far Winnsboro goes to work
About 25% 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.
What the 1,237 jobs in Winnsboro are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Winnsboro, 2013 → 2023: 1,309 → 1,237. 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 Winnsboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Winnsboro to work: where people go
Where Winnsboro clocks in
11% of workers
2% 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 daily trip from Winnsboro: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Winnsboro workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,217 commuters (the 14% 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.
Most of Winnsboro commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Winnsboro is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #35 of 169 in South Carolina. Both inputs place Winnsboro 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 1,407 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). 10.4% of Winnsboro households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Winnsboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500, Winnsboro ranks 3,762nd of 4,593 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 524 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,760 | Clearwater SC | 3,319 | $52K | 17.3% | 11.5% | 2% | C− |
| 3,761 | Harbour Heights FL | 4,289 | $65K | 14.2% | 16.4% | 3% | C− |
| 3,762 | Winnsboro SC | 3,305 | $37K | 12.8% | 7.7% | 11% | C− |
| 3,763 | Livingston NY | 3,611 | $54K | 17.1% | 5.1% | 8% | C− |
| 3,764 | Fort McKinley OH | 3,508 | $46K | 21.4% | 10.2% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | 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 Winnsboro, the top three, the last and three more from South Carolina.
Next door to Winnsboro
The biggest share goes to Winnsboro Mills (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Winnsboro workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnsboro | – | C− | B+ | 26 min | $37,434 |
| Winnsboro Mills | 2% | D | C+ | 27 min | $34,708 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Winnsboro’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 Winnsboro: questions
What is the median household income in Winnsboro?
$37,434 (±$2,626) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Winnsboro?
12.8%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Winnsboro?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Winnsboro work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (11%, 25 mi), Winnsboro Mills (2%, 2 mi), Greenville (2%, 79 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Winnsboro walkable?
Winnsboro is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Winnsboro without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Winnsboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Winnsboro
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.