Photo: Cohee · CC BY 3.0Households in Houston have lower incomes than those in 93% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Houston is better than 11% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (D). 26.2% of residents are in poverty, next to 18.9% for Mississippi as a whole. About one in three work in Houston; the top destination outside it is Tupelo (8%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Houston: the gist
Houston is where the jobs are
Houston has 2,873 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,200 people are in town, 41% more than the 3,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Houston are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 26 across Mississippi. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Mississippi worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Houston workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Houston’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Houston’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Houston is Tupelo, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (110) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Houston makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Houston are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Houston residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 38%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Houston’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Houston’s grade up (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Houston could be anywhere from D− to C.
The daily flow of workers through Houston
On a workday 896 residents head out to work, 458 work right here, and 2,415 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in Houston on a workday afternoon, 41% more than live here.
2.1 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.
Time on the road from Houston: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Houston workers work from home, vs 6% across Mississippi. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,236 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Mississippi: 87% 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.
Houston makes things: 37% of its jobs are in goods
2,873 jobs are based in Houston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Houston, 2013 → 2023: 3,232 → 2,873. 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.
The commute from Houston, by distance
About 22% 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.
The towns that send workers to Houston
Where Houston clocks in
8% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Driving is how Houston gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 1.8% across Mississippi.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,319 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 12.0% of Houston households have no vehicle (Mississippi 6.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Houston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000, Houston ranks 3,871st of 4,318 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 612 | Bridgetown MS | 3,195 | $139K | 1.0% | 5.8% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 965 | Gluckstadt MS | 3,500 | $124K | 5.3% | 5.4% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,027 | New Hope MS | 3,952 | $80K | 2.9% | 1.2% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,869 | Afton NY | 2,719 | $52K | 12.1% | 7.8% | 9% | D |
| 3,870 | Lincoln Park CO | 3,986 | $60K | 13.9% | 8.6% | 4% | D |
| 3,871 | Houston MS | 3,670 | $44K | 26.2% | 4.5% | 34% | D |
| 3,872 | Stroud OK | 2,913 | $61K | 24.0% | 5.4% | 21% | D |
| 3,873 | Waynesburg PA | 3,631 | $54K | 15.1% | 9.2% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Houston, the top three, the last and three more from Mississippi.
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?
$44,023 (±$9,853) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $56,447 across Mississippi and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Houston?
26.2%, against 18.9% across Mississippi and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Houston?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Mississippi and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Houston work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tupelo (8%, 30 mi), Ecru (3%, 31 mi), Pontotoc (3%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Houston walkable?
Houston is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Houston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% 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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.