Work & commute · Bluffton

Work & commute in Bluffton, SC

Most working residents leave Bluffton for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Hilton Head Island (22%), Burton (6%) and Savannah (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

2,303 of 11,999 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,696 Bluffton residents head out of town to work, 2,303 work right here, and 8,305 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bluffton.

9,696live here, work elsewhere

2,303live and work here

8,305work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bluffton goes to work

Hilton Head Island11.4 mi away

22%2,593

Bluffton (in town)right here

19%2,303

Burton18.2 mi away

6%718

Savannah, GA20.8 mi away

4%486

Beaufort20.7 mi away

3%369

Hardeeville7.9 mi away

2%241

North Charleston69.9 mi away

2%199

Charleston70.1 mi away

2%193

Columbia126.1 mi away

2%185

Mount Pleasant74.4 mi away

1%89

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%4,623

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Bluffton commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

45%

34%

20%

45%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

1%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bluffton is balanced between jobs and homes

0.88jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bluffton are

10,608 jobs are based in Bluffton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bluffton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bluffton

10,608 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Bluffton residents hold

11,999 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+127%

Jobs based in Bluffton, 2013 → 2023: 4,673 → 10,608. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.