Work & commute · West Columbia

Work & commute in West Columbia, SC

Most working residents leave West Columbia for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Columbia (27%), Cayce (6%) and Lexington (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

521 of 7,041 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,520 West Columbia residents head out of town to work, 521 work right here, and 13,006 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Columbia.

6,520live here, work elsewhere

521live and work here

13,006work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Columbia goes to work

Columbia12.1 mi away

27%1,901

West Columbia (in town)right here

7%521

Cayce4.4 mi away

6%398

Lexington7 mi away

4%287

Seven Oaks4.5 mi away

3%181

Irmo9.5 mi away

1%104

Greenville92.8 mi away

1%103

North Charleston95.1 mi away

1%89

St. Andrews4.2 mi away

1%72

Forest Acres7.8 mi away

1%70

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%3,315

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

How far

How far West Columbia commutes

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

67%

11%

18%

67%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Columbia is a job hub

1.92jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Columbia are

13,527 jobs are based in West Columbia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Columbia

13,527 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs West Columbia residents hold

7,041 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+10%

Jobs based in West Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 12,305 → 13,527. 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.