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Work & commute in Pawleys Island · A commuter town

100% of Pawleys Island’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Pawleys Island for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Litchfield Beach (18%), Surfside Beach (8%) and Mount Pleasant (8%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 39 working residents
Typical commute
22 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
12 min
Less than SC (26 min)
Work from home
29%
More than SC (12%)
Jobs based here
24
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Pawleys Island?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

18% of working residents work in Litchfield Beach

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Raleigh: 1 residents work here (3%)Pawleys IslandSurfside Beach: 3 residents work here (8%)BonneauWalhalla: 1 residents work here (3%)PagelandGeorgetownMyrtle Beach: 2 residents work here (5%)Conway: 2 residents work here (5%)North Charleston: 2 residents work here (5%)Mount Pleasant: 3 residents work here (8%)Columbia: 2 residents work here (5%)DeBordieu ColonyGarden CityMurrells Inlet: 3 residents work here (8%)Litchfield Beach: 7 residents work here (18%)Carolina ForestLitchfield BeachSurfside BeachMount PleasantMurrells InletMyrtle BeachConwayPawleys Island
1
Litchfield Beach3.3 mi away
18%7
2
Surfside Beach15.2 mi away
8%3
3
Mount Pleasant60.5 mi away
8%3
4
Murrells Inlet9.8 mi away
8%3
5
Myrtle Beach23.9 mi away
5%2
6
Conway28.4 mi away
5%2
7
North Charleston64.8 mi away
5%2
8
Columbia110.3 mi away
5%2
9
Raleigh, NC168.4 mi away
3%1
10
Walhalla243.1 mi away
3%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
33%13
The top trips

Where Pawleys Island clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 12 minutes each way, quicker than most of South Carolina

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
94 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Pawleys Island12 min
South Carolina26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
29%

of Pawleys Island workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.

About 3 in 10
Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 39 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 24 people come in from elsewhere.

39live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
24work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night170
Workday160
170live here− 39head out to work+ 24come in to work= 160on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.62jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

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

Half of Pawleys Island commutes less than 22 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miLitchfield Beach: 18% · 3.3 miSurfside Beach: 8% · 15.2 miMount Pleasant: 8% · 60.5 miMurrells Inlet: 8% · 9.8 miMyrtle Beach: 5% · 23.9 miConway: 5% · 28.4 miNorth Charleston: 5% · 64.8 miColumbia: 5% · 110.3 miRaleigh: 3% · 168.4 miWalhalla: 3% · 243.1 miLitchfield Beach 18%Surfside Beach 8%Mount Pleasant 8%Murrells Inlet 8%Myrtle Beach 5%Pawleys Island
Pawleys IslandTop destinations (size = commuters)
28%Under 10 mi11 residents
28%10–24 mi11 residents
10%25–50 mi4 residents
33%Over 50 mi13 residents

About 33% 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.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

24 jobs are based in Pawleys Island. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pawleys Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Pawleys IslandJobs Pawleys Island residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%10%
Trade, transport & utilities0%23%
Services: health, schools, offices100%67%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less13%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month42%15%
Over $3,333 a month46%69%

Who does it

29 or younger13%10%
30 to 5446%41%
55 and older42%49%
−8%

Jobs based in Pawleys Island, 2013 → 2023: 26 → 24. 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.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Pawleys Island

Pawleys Island home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Pawleys Island, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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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.

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