Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Waco
The average commute takes 32 minutes each way, where Georgia has 28 and the U.S. 26. Hardly any stay in Waco for work; outside it, Carrollton is the main destination (17%, 10 miles). There are 348 jobs in Waco, and 218 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Waco at work: what stands out
What Waco’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waco, 2013 → 2023: 22 → 348. 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 Waco’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waco fills up on a workday
On a workday 216 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 346 people come in from elsewhere.
About 740 people are in Waco on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Waco: where workers come from
Where Waco clocks in
17% of workers
14% 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.
About 32 minutes each way, longer than most of Georgia
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waco workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 257 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Georgia: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Waco goes to work
About 20% 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.
Bordering towns draw 14% of Waco’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Bremen. Darker towns draw more of Waco’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Waco: questions
What is the median household income in Waco?
$38,393 (±$17,944) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waco?
28.0%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waco?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waco work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carrollton (17%, 10 mi), Bremen (14%, 2 mi), Tallapoosa (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Waco without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waco, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waco
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.