Abbott's Mill · Photo: Smallbones · CC0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Houston works elsewhere
There are 71 jobs in Houston, and 158 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Houston for work; outside it, Milford is the main destination (14%, 4 miles). Home is the office for 29% of workers, against 15% across Delaware.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Houston: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 157 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 70 people come in from elsewhere.
About 320 people are in Houston on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Houston: the destinations
Where Houston clocks in
14% of workers
14% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
66% of the jobs in Houston pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Houston, 2013 → 2023: 59 → 71. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Houston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of Delaware
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Houston workers work from home, vs 15% across Delaware. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 172 commuters (the 29% who work from home are left out). Across Delaware: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Houston’s commute, mile by mile
About 25% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Houston: questions
What is the median household income in Houston?
$68,889 (±$52,530) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $84,954 across Delaware and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Houston?
23.2%, against 10.4% across Delaware and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Houston?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Delaware and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Houston work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milford (14%, 4 mi), Dover (14%, 17 mi), Seaford (4%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Houston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Houston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Houston
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.