Potton-Hayden House · Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Big Spring has higher unemployment (6.6%) than 79% of U.S. towns
3% of workers work from home (Texas 14%). Jobs and income earn Big Spring C−; getting around on foot earns it B−. About one in three stay in Big Spring for work; outside it, Midland is the main destination (10%, 40 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Big Spring and work: the main findings
Big Spring’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Big Spring is Midland, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (1,021) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% 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 Big Spring 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 Big Spring 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 ↓
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 Big Spring
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Big Spring is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #533 of 642 in Texas. Household income holds Big Spring’s grade up ($67,581, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Big Spring could be anywhere from D to C.
Miles to work from Big Spring
About 39% 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 Big Spring spends getting to work: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Spring workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,394 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.
In and out of Big Spring on a workday
On a workday 6,992 residents head out to work, 3,099 work right here, and 4,214 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Big Spring on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.72 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.
Out of Big Spring to work: where people go
Where Big Spring clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Big Spring: what the 7,313 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Spring, 2013 → 2023: 9,235 → 7,313. 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 Big Spring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Big Spring, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big Spring is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #300 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 9,697 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). 7.1% of Big Spring households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Big Spring’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Big Spring compares with U.S. towns of 16,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Colleyville TX | 25,727 | $218K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Corinth TX | 25,297 | $121K | 3.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,530 | Reedley CA | 26,982 | $63K | 22.3% | 13.4% | 20% | C− |
| 1,531 | Alton TX | 24,138 | $53K | 27.5% | 8.3% | 2% | C− |
| 1,532 | Big Spring TX | 22,290 | $68K | 17.1% | 6.6% | 31% | C− |
| 1,533 | Sedalia MO | 22,621 | $51K | 19.4% | 5.2% | 40% | C− |
| 1,534 | Lake Wales FL | 18,650 | $56K | 22.4% | 5.9% | 13% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,658 | 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 Big Spring, 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 Big Spring: questions
What is the median household income in Big Spring?
$67,581 (±$4,094) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Spring?
17.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Spring?
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 Big Spring work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Midland (10%, 40 mi), Odessa (5%, 56 mi), San Angelo (3%, 82 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Big Spring walkable?
Big Spring is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Spring without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Spring, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Spring
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.