Photo: Renegomezphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0Making a living in Anderson
Hardly any work in Anderson; the top destination outside it is Houston (14%, 60 miles). Commuters spend 19 minutes getting to work on average; the Texas average is 27, the U.S. 26. Anderson has 65 jobs, against 112 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Anderson
On a workday 111 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 64 people come in from elsewhere.
About 170 people are in Anderson on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
The places Anderson commutes to
Where Anderson clocks in
14% of workers
12% of workers
8% 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.
In Anderson, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Anderson, 2013 → 2023: 81 → 65. 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 Anderson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Texas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Anderson workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 64 commuters (the 15% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Anderson
About 40% 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 Anderson: questions
What is the median household income in Anderson?
$85,000 (±$57,542) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Anderson?
4.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Anderson?
19 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Anderson work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (14%, 60 mi), Bryan (12%, 26 mi), College Station (8%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Anderson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Anderson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Anderson
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.