Households in Alice have lower incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 31.4% of residents, next to 13.8% across Texas. The two grades for Alice are C− for jobs and income and B for walkability. 6% of workers have no commute at all, next to 14% for Texas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Alice, in brief
Alice’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Alice is Corpus Christi, 55 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (956) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Alice than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Alice fell from 14,124 in 2013 to 9,298 in 2023, −34%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Alice
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Alice is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #531 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Alice’s grade up (4.1%, 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, Alice could be anywhere from D to C+.
Short hops and long hauls from Alice
About 33% 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 9,298 jobs based in Alice
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alice, 2013 → 2023: 14,124 → 9,298. 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 Alice’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Alice, and who commutes in
On a workday 4,726 residents head out to work, 2,757 work right here, and 6,541 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Alice on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in Corpus Christi
Where Alice clocks in
13% of workers
4% 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.
Each way, about 23 minutes from Alice
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alice workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,719 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% 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.
Most of Alice commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Alice is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #179 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,128 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). 7.6% of Alice households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Alice’s commuters take a bus or train.
Alice next to U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,900 | Wawarsing NY | 12,448 | $64K | 22.0% | 5.3% | 18% | C− |
| 1,901 | Troy AL | 18,022 | $51K | 25.0% | 2.7% | 41% | C− |
| 1,902 | Alice TX | 17,550 | $49K | 31.4% | 4.1% | 37% | C− |
| 1,903 | Johnson City NY | 14,580 | $56K | 19.6% | 11.4% | 15% | C− |
| 1,904 | Chickasha OK | 17,313 | $54K | 17.5% | 6.9% | 38% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Alice, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Alice and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alice workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alice | – | C− | B | 23 min | $48,676 |
| Rancho Alegre | under 1% | D | D | 17 min | $49,202 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Alice’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 Alice: questions
What is the median household income in Alice?
$48,676 (±$10,559) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alice?
31.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alice?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alice work?
37% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Corpus Christi (13%, 55 mi), San Antonio (4%, 121 mi), Houston (4%, 214 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Alice walkable?
Alice is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Alice 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 Alice, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alice
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.