Work & commute · Summerville

Work & commute in Summerville, SC

Most working residents leave Summerville for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are North Charleston (25%), Charleston (14%) and Mount Pleasant (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

2,812 of 23,376 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 20,564 Summerville residents head out of town to work, 2,812 work right here, and 15,965 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Summerville.

20,564live here, work elsewhere

2,812live and work here

15,965work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Summerville goes to work

North Charleston8.9 mi away

25%5,864

Charleston17.1 mi away

14%3,245

Summerville (in town)right here

12%2,812

Mount Pleasant22.8 mi away

4%907

Goose Creek9.8 mi away

3%630

Columbia82.7 mi away

2%446

Ladson4 mi away

1%300

Moncks Corner17.5 mi away

1%275

Hanahan11.4 mi away

1%245

St. George26.4 mi away

1%236

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%8,416

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

How far

How far Summerville commutes

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

40%

39%

18%

40%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Summerville is balanced between jobs and homes

0.80jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.80 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Summerville are

18,777 jobs are based in Summerville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Summerville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Summerville

18,777 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Summerville residents hold

23,376 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+31%

Jobs based in Summerville, 2013 → 2023: 14,298 → 18,777. 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.