Photo: Renegomezphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Brownwood have lower incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 20.9% of residents, where Texas as a whole has 13.8%. Brownwood grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 4% of workers have no commute at all; Texas has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Brownwood apart
Commutes from Brownwood are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
Few Brownwood workers work from home
Only 4% 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Brownwood gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brownwood is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #547 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Brownwood’s grade up (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($48,981, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brownwood could be anywhere from D to C.
About 14 minutes each way for Brownwood’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brownwood workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,125 commuters (the 4% 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.
Where in the region Brownwood works
About 41% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who works in Brownwood, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 4,795 residents head out to work, 3,315 work right here, and 6,194 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 (1.17 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
5% of working residents work in Austin
Where Brownwood clocks in
5% 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.
The 9,509 jobs based in Brownwood
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brownwood, 2014 → 2024: 10,134 → 9,509. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Brownwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Brownwood commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brownwood is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #100 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Brownwood 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 8,425 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). 11.0% of Brownwood households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Brownwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Brownwood and other U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Rendon TX | 14,632 | $118K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,779 | Pascagoula MS | 21,409 | $52K | 24.4% | 7.6% | 43% | C− |
| 1,780 | West Pensacola FL | 20,665 | $41K | 25.8% | 6.7% | 5% | C− |
| 1,781 | Brownwood TX | 18,635 | $49K | 20.9% | 4.8% | 41% | C− |
| 1,782 | Ashland KY | 20,996 | $53K | 22.4% | 7.7% | 37% | C− |
| 1,783 | Kirksville MO | 17,863 | $50K | 28.2% | 4.0% | 53% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Brownwood, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door to Brownwood
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Early. Darker towns draw more of Brownwood’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 2024, 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 Brownwood: questions
What is the median household income in Brownwood?
$48,981 (±$8,219) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brownwood?
20.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brownwood?
14 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brownwood work?
41% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (5%, 122 mi), Early (4%, 3 mi), San Antonio (3%, 158 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Brownwood walkable?
Brownwood is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brownwood without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brownwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brownwood
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.