Work & commute · Charleston

Work & commute in Charleston, SC

42% of Charleston’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are North Charleston (17%), Mount Pleasant (9%) and Columbia (2%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

29,322 of 70,206 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 40,884 Charleston residents head out of town to work, 29,322 work right here, and 75,296 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Charleston.

40,884live here, work elsewhere

29,322live and work here

75,296work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Charleston goes to work

Charleston (in town)right here

42%29,322

North Charleston8.2 mi away

17%11,836

Mount Pleasant6.5 mi away

9%6,047

Columbia99.3 mi away

2%1,202

Kiawah Island15.5 mi away

1%1,020

Summerville17.1 mi away

1%1,007

Greenville195.1 mi away

1%830

James Island6.7 mi away

1%643

Goose Creek11.7 mi away

1%616

Hanahan7.3 mi away

1%450

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%17,233

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

How far

How far Charleston commutes

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

65%

18%

16%

65%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

1%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Charleston is balanced between jobs and homes

1.49jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.49 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Charleston are

104,618 jobs are based in Charleston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Charleston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Charleston

104,618 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Charleston residents hold

70,206 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+21%

Jobs based in Charleston, 2013 → 2023: 86,331 → 104,618. 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.