For about half of its working residents, Carlsbad is a commute to San Angelo
Hardly any work in Carlsbad itself; outside it, San Angelo draws the most (49%, 16 miles). 0% of workers have no commute at all, against 14% across Texas. Working residents average 12 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Carlsbad apart
Carlsbad is a place people come home to
There are 10 jobs based in Carlsbad, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Carlsbad has about 610 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Carlsbad than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Carlsbad fell from 884 in 2013 to 10 in 2023, −99%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 231 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Carlsbad to work: where people go
Where Carlsbad clocks in
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.
Who leaves Carlsbad for work, and who comes in
On a workday 231 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.
About 610 people are in Carlsbad on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.04 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.
In Carlsbad, services account for most jobs
10 jobs are based in Carlsbad.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carlsbad, 2013 → 2023: 884 → 10. 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 Carlsbad’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Carlsbad, about 12 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carlsbad workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 288 commuters (the 0% 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.
Half of Carlsbad commutes less than 17 miles
About 32% 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 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 Carlsbad: questions
What is the median household income in Carlsbad?
$55,469 (±$34,621) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carlsbad?
46.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carlsbad?
12 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carlsbad work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Carlsbad without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carlsbad, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carlsbad
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.