Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Athens draws 6,971 commuters a day, with 1.8 jobs for every working resident
Athens has 8,661 jobs, and 4,874 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Athens C+; getting around on foot earns it B−. 3% of workers have no commute at all, where Texas as a whole has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Athens apart
Athens draws workers from far and wide
The 8,661 jobs in Athens are filled from a wide area. Athens’ own residents hold 20% and the ten next-biggest home towns 10%; the other 70% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Athens is where the jobs are
Athens has 8,661 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Athens are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Athens workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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.
Inside Athens’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Athens is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #374 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Athens’ grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Athens could be anywhere from C− to B.
The towns that send workers to Athens
Where Athens clocks in
7% of workers
2% 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 Athens on a workday
On a workday 3,184 residents head out to work and 1,690 work right here.
About 18,000 people are in Athens on a workday afternoon, 27% more 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.
Time on the road from Athens: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Athens workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,722 commuters (the 3% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Athens
About 35% 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 Athens’ employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Athens, 2013 → 2023: 7,650 → 8,661. 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 Athens’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Athens gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Athens is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #253 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Athens near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,905 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). 12.2% of Athens households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Athens’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Athens is 1,646th of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,644 | Beatrice NE | 12,318 | $57K | 17.4% | 1.7% | 45% | C+ |
| 1,645 | Boaz AL | 10,619 | $50K | 19.4% | 2.1% | 17% | C+ |
| 1,646 | Athens TX | 13,870 | $68K | 12.7% | 4.3% | 35% | C+ |
| 1,647 | Fort Leonard Wood MO | 15,432 | $68K | 7.2% | 5.1% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,648 | Cloquet MN | 12,399 | $61K | 15.9% | 4.0% | 34% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | 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 Athens, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
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 Athens: questions
What is the median household income in Athens?
$67,984 (±$17,249) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Athens?
12.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Athens?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Athens work?
35% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tyler (7%, 32 mi), Dallas (4%, 68 mi), Houston (2%, 169 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Athens walkable?
Athens is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Athens without a car?
<1% 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 Athens, from the people who make the trip.
More of Athens
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.