Photo: Leaflet · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Amherst commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Home is the office for 2% of workers, next to 14% for Texas as a whole. There are 98 jobs in Amherst; 268 of its residents have a job. Only 4% stay in Amherst for work; outside it, Lubbock is the main destination (17%, 43 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Amherst: the figures worth knowing
Amherst’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Amherst is Lubbock, 43 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (45) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 ↓
Commutes from Amherst are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 268 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Near or far: the trip to work from Amherst
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.
How long Amherst spends getting to work: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Amherst workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 352 commuters (the 2% 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.
Who leaves Amherst for work, and who comes in
On a workday 258 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 88 people come in from elsewhere.
About 470 people are in Amherst on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
Where Amherst’s working residents head each day
Where Amherst clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
Goods jobs make up 43% of work in Amherst
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Amherst, 2013 → 2023: 94 → 98. 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 Amherst’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Amherst: questions
What is the median household income in Amherst?
$63,611 (±$16,072) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Amherst?
47.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Amherst?
19 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Amherst work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lubbock (17%, 43 mi), Amarillo (8%, 89 mi), Littlefield (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Amherst without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Amherst, from the people who make the trip.
More of Amherst
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.