Most of China Spring commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Employers in China Spring report 134 jobs, against 677 working residents. Jobs and income earn China Spring B−; getting around on foot earns it D. A typical one-way commute lasts 17 minutes (Texas 27, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in China Spring, in a few figures
China Spring and Waco trade workers both ways
Waco is the top workplace for China Spring residents (44%) and also where the most people who work in China Spring come from (32% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
China Spring is a place people come home to
There are 134 jobs based in China Spring, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday China Spring has about 580 people in it, 48% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from China Spring are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. 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; with 677 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in China Spring
On income, poverty and job access, China Spring is better than 50% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides China Spring’s grade. It also does well on job access by car.
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: China Spring’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, China Spring could be anywhere from C− to A.
44% of working residents work in Waco
Where China Spring clocks in
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of China Spring
On a workday 668 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 125 people come in from elsewhere.
About 580 people are in China Spring on a workday afternoon, 48% 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.
The daily trip from China Spring: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of China Spring workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 529 commuters (the 13% 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.
Goods jobs make up 30% of work in China Spring
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in China Spring, 2013 → 2023: 126 → 134. 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 China Spring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region China Spring works
About 31% 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.
For most of China Spring, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, China Spring is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place China Spring 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 608 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). 0.0% of China Spring households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of China Spring’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, China Spring is 1,236th among 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | 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% | 1% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Rollingwood TX | 1,466 | $240K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Serenada TX | 1,444 | $155K | 1.5% | 2.6% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,234 | Wilmington NY | 1,182 | $82K | 4.0% | 0.0% | 6% | B− |
| 1,235 | Fairfield Township OH | 1,096 | $74K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 0% | B− |
| 1,236 | China Spring TX | 1,126 | $71K | 9.0% | 0.0% | 1% | B− |
| 1,237 | Rand WV | 1,064 | $61K | 8.6% | 5.4% | 1% | B− |
| 1,238 | Persifer Township IL | 1,051 | $74K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 China Spring, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
44% of China Spring works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | China Spring workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Spring | – | B− | D | 17 min | $70,792 |
| Waco | 44% | C | B+ | 19 min | $54,365 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Waco. Darker towns draw more of China Spring’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 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 China Spring: questions
What is the median household income in China Spring?
$70,792 (±$35,013) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in China Spring?
9.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from China Spring?
17 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in China Spring work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waco (44%, 9 mi), Austin (5%, 97 mi), Temple (3%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is China Spring walkable?
China Spring is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around China Spring without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from China Spring, from the people who make the trip.
More of China 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.