Photo: Patrick Feller · CC BY 2.0Baytown has higher unemployment (10.2%) than 95% of U.S. towns
6% of workers work from home (Texas 14%). Jobs and income earn Baytown C; getting around on foot earns it B−. About one in five stay in Baytown for work; outside it, Houston is the main destination (27%, 25 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Baytown in brief
Baytown trades workers with the towns around it
Baytown has about as many jobs (31,018) as working residents (33,886), but they are mostly different people: 27,788 residents leave for work each day while 24,920 people come in. Only 20% of the jobs in Baytown are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Baytown and Houston trade workers both ways
Houston is the top workplace for Baytown residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Baytown come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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 Baytown
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Baytown is better than 29% of U.S. towns, #434 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Baytown’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Baytown could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Baytown on a workday afternoon
On a workday 27,788 residents head out to work, 6,098 work right here, and 24,920 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 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.
Where Baytown goes to work
Where Baytown clocks in
27% 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.
What the 31,018 jobs in Baytown are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Baytown, 2013 → 2023: 29,084 → 31,018. 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 Baytown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Baytown: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Baytown workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 34,736 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Baytown
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 Baytown, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Baytown is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #269 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 36,866 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% 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). 8.7% of Baytown households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Baytown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Baytown is 453rd of 519 U.S. towns of 61,000 to 117,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Flower Mound TX | 79,540 | $161K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 12 | Celina TX | 64,427 | $171K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 451 | Daytona Beach FL | 88,471 | $52K | 20.4% | 4.7% | 29% | C |
| 452 | Fall River MA | 95,298 | $57K | 19.6% | 6.5% | 30% | C |
| 453 | Baytown TX | 86,561 | $60K | 18.2% | 10.2% | 18% | C |
| 454 | North Little Rock AR | 65,120 | $53K | 20.3% | 5.9% | 22% | C |
| 455 | Warner Robins GA | 87,761 | $67K | 14.2% | 6.4% | 27% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 519 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Baytown, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Baytown and its neighbors: 29% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Baytown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baytown | – | C | B− | 25 min | $59,910 |
| Beach City | under 2% | A+ | D− | 32 min | $148,574 |
| Mont Belvieu | 2% | A− | C | 35 min | $132,781 |
| Highlands | under 2% | C+ | B+ | 31 min | $52,167 |
| Houston | 27% | C+ | A | 27 min | $64,813 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Houston. Darker towns draw more of Baytown’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 Baytown: questions
What is the median household income in Baytown?
$59,910 (±$6,242) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Baytown?
18.2%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Baytown?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Baytown work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (27%, 25 mi), Pasadena (5%, 13 mi), Deer Park (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Baytown walkable?
Baytown is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Baytown without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Baytown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Baytown
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.