For more than half of its working residents, Arcola is a commute to Houston
Jobs and income earn Arcola B; getting around on foot earns it C−. 5% of workers work from home; Texas has 14%. Hardly any stay in Arcola for work; outside it, Houston is the main destination (54%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Arcola
More than half of Arcola works in Houston
546 working residents, 54%, have their main job in Houston, 20 miles away. That’s far more as work in Arcola itself. The commute map ↓
Arcola is a place people come home to
There are 187 jobs based in Arcola, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Arcola has about 1,700 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Arcola workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical 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.
The four measures behind Arcola’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Arcola is better than 64% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Arcola’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (11.2%) is left out: Arcola’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Arcola could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Where the trip to work from Arcola ends
Where Arcola clocks in
54% 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.
In and out of Arcola on a workday
On a workday 1,017 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 186 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Arcola on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.18 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.
Getting to work from Arcola takes about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arcola workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 754 commuters (the 5% 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.
What Arcola’s employers do
187 jobs are based in Arcola.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arcola, 2013 → 2023: 126 → 187. 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 Arcola’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Arcola
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.
In Arcola, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Arcola is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 792 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.1% of Arcola households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Arcola’s commuters take a bus or train.
Arcola places 1,617th of 5,401 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Southside Place TX | 1,916 | $163K | 5.0% | 5.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,615 | Tangelo Park FL | 2,404 | $68K | 8.9% | 4.3% | 0% | B |
| 1,616 | Brazoria TX | 2,882 | $80K | 11.8% | 0.8% | 4% | B |
| 1,617 | Arcola TX | 2,499 | $75K | 13.0% | 11.2% | <1% | B |
| 1,618 | Kickapoo Township KS | 1,857 | $87K | 3.3% | 2.6% | 6% | B |
| 1,619 | Franklin Township PA | 2,602 | $78K | 4.0% | 4.8% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,401 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Arcola, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Arcola and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Missouri City (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Arcola workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcola | – | B | C− | 35 min | $75,086 |
| Sienna | under 1% | A+ | C | 36 min | $177,837 |
| Fresno | under 1% | A− | C− | 34 min | $91,264 |
| Missouri City | 2% | A− | B− | 30 min | $94,390 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Arcola’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 Arcola: questions
What is the median household income in Arcola?
$75,086 (±$20,646) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arcola?
13.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arcola?
35 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arcola work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (54%, 20 mi), Sugar Land (7%, 12 mi), Pearland (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arcola walkable?
Arcola is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arcola without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Arcola, from the people who make the trip.
More of Arcola
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.