Work means San Antonio for about two in three of China Grove’s working residents
For jobs and income China Grove is better than 95% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (D). Measured by household income, China Grove is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. Hardly any work in China Grove; the top destination outside it is San Antonio (63%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in China Grove
More than half of China Grove works in San Antonio
483 working residents, 63%, have their main job in San Antonio, 12 miles away. That’s 63 times as many as work in China Grove itself. The commute map ↓
China Grove makes and builds things
72% of the jobs based in China Grove are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs China Grove residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 16%. The jobs ↓
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; with 765 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in China Grove
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides China Grove’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
Unemployment (2.1%) is left out: China Grove’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, China Grove could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Commuting out of China Grove: the destinations
Where China Grove clocks in
63% of workers
3% of workers
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.
China Grove makes things: 72% of its jobs are in goods
885 jobs are based in China Grove.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in China Grove, 2014 → 2024: 732 → 885. 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 China Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of China Grove on a workday
On a workday 761 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 881 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in China Grove on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 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.
China Grove’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of China Grove workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 427 commuters (the 7% 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.
The commute from China Grove, by distance
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.
Most of China Grove commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 461 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 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 0.7% of China Grove households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of China Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, China Grove is 119th of 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Seis Lagos TX | 1,391 | $249K | 1.2% | 4.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Rollingwood TX | 1,466 | $240K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Serenada TX | 1,444 | $155K | 1.5% | 2.6% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Ostrander OH | 1,219 | $159K | 4.8% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 118 | Verona KY | 1,394 | $145K | 3.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 119 | China Grove TX | 1,149 | $103K | 4.8% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 120 | Burlington Township OH | 1,254 | $141K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| 121 | Center Township OH | 1,161 | $108K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 China Grove, 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 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 China Grove: questions
What is the median household income in China Grove?
$103,162 (±$22,655) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in China Grove?
4.8%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from China Grove?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in China Grove work?
1% work in town.
Is China Grove walkable?
China Grove is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.1 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around China Grove without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from China Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of China Grove
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.