Most of Bloomington commutes out: there are 0.0 jobs for every working resident
Bloomington grades D for jobs and income and D− for walkability. 22 jobs are based in Bloomington, and 614 of its residents work somewhere. Measured by household income, Bloomington is behind 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Bloomington
A big share show a job far from home
56% 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 ↓
Bloomington is a place people come home to
There are 22 jobs based in Bloomington, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Bloomington has about 1,300 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Bloomington and Victoria trade workers both ways
Victoria is the top workplace for Bloomington residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Bloomington come from (27% 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; with 614 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Bloomington
On income, poverty and job access, Bloomington is better than 9% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Bloomington’s grade up (ahead of 33% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (25.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (7.8%) is left out: Bloomington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Bloomington could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Near or far: the trip to work from Bloomington
About 56% 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.
Bloomington quiets down on a workday
On a workday 613 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 21 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Bloomington on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer 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.
24% of working residents work in Victoria
Where Bloomington clocks in
24% of workers
11% 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.
What Bloomington’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bloomington, 2013 → 2023: 54 → 22. 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 Bloomington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bloomington’s commute takes about 43 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bloomington workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 601 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.
Most trips from Bloomington start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bloomington is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Bloomington 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 630 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). 9.2% of Bloomington households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bloomington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Bloomington ranks: 5,068th of 5,921 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Seis Lagos TX | 1,391 | $249K | 1.2% | 4.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Rollingwood TX | 1,466 | $240K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| 25 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,066 | Lebanon NY | 1,328 | $67K | 24.2% | 19.3% | 2% | D |
| 5,067 | Edisto SC | 1,801 | $47K | 25.2% | 0.2% | 1% | D |
| 5,068 | Bloomington TX | 1,895 | $53K | 25.7% | 7.8% | <1% | D |
| 5,069 | Bayou La Batre AL | 2,068 | $38K | 29.7% | 2.6% | 10% | D |
| 5,070 | Dillsboro IN | 1,375 | $49K | 14.9% | 2.8% | 5% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Bloomington, 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 Bloomington: questions
What is the median household income in Bloomington?
$52,666 (±$12,962) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bloomington?
25.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bloomington?
43 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bloomington work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Victoria (24%, 13 mi), Houston (11%, 120 mi), San Antonio (5%, 113 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bloomington walkable?
Bloomington is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bloomington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bloomington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bloomington
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.