Work & commute · Columbia

Work & commute in Columbia, SC

40% of Columbia’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are West Columbia (2%), Cayce (2%) and Forest Acres (2%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40%

19,075 of 47,955 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 28,880 Columbia residents head out of town to work, 19,075 work right here, and 113,412 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbia.

28,880live here, work elsewhere

19,075live and work here

113,412work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbia goes to work

Columbia (in town)right here

40%19,075

West Columbia12.1 mi away

2%1,117

Cayce10.2 mi away

2%1,016

Forest Acres4.3 mi away

2%986

Lexington18.8 mi away

2%896

Woodfield2.3 mi away

2%864

Seven Oaks13.9 mi away

2%844

Greenville100 mi away

2%768

Dentsville4.1 mi away

2%751

North Charleston91.2 mi away

1%668

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%20,970

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

How far

How far Columbia commutes

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

60%

15%

21%

60%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbia is a job hub

2.76jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbia are

132,487 jobs are based in Columbia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbia

132,487 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Columbia residents hold

47,955 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+7%

Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 124,071 → 132,487. 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.