Households in Chula Vista have lower incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
24.4% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.8% across Texas. Chula Vista grades C− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers (Texas 14%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Chula Vista, in brief
Chula Vista is a place people come home to
There are 44 jobs based in Chula Vista, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Chula Vista has about 3,100 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
48% 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 ↓
Commutes from Chula Vista are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Chula Vista workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Chula Vista workers earn over $40,000 a year
41% of Chula Vista’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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.
Inside Chula Vista’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chula Vista is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #503 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Chula Vista’s grade up (2.2%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($39,271, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chula Vista could be anywhere from D to B−.
How many people are in Chula Vista by day
On a workday 1,712 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 37 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Chula Vista on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.03 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.
How many miles Chula Vista commutes
About 48% 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.
Time on the road from Chula Vista: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chula Vista workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,754 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.
Jobs in Chula Vista: what the 44 are
44 jobs are based in Chula Vista.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chula Vista, 2013 → 2023: 69 → 44. 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 Chula Vista’s own residents hold wherever they work.
23% of working residents work in Eagle Pass
Where Chula Vista clocks in
23% of workers
10% 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.
Most trips from Chula Vista start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chula Vista is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns, #587 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,754 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). 5.0% of Chula Vista households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chula Vista’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,867 U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,400, Chula Vista comes 3,082nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 8 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Garden Ridge TX | 4,371 | $177K | 0.4% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,080 | Broken Bow NE | 3,507 | $60K | 8.8% | 5.9% | 61% | C− |
| 3,081 | South Brooksville FL | 5,099 | $61K | 14.0% | 5.9% | 1% | C− |
| 3,082 | Chula Vista TX | 4,746 | $39K | 24.4% | 2.2% | <1% | C− |
| 3,083 | Winfield AL | 4,842 | $50K | 12.5% | 3.9% | 23% | C− |
| 3,084 | Roanoke AL | 5,440 | $47K | 12.5% | 3.4% | 30% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,867 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Chula Vista, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
The towns next door employ 23% of Chula Vista
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chula Vista workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chula Vista | – | C− | D | 19 min | $39,271 |
| Eagle Pass | 23% | D | B+ | 20 min | $57,207 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Eagle Pass. Darker towns draw more of Chula Vista’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 Chula Vista: questions
What is the median household income in Chula Vista?
$39,271 (±$22,823) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chula Vista?
24.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chula Vista?
19 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chula Vista work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eagle Pass (23%, 4 mi), Rosita (12%, 2 mi), San Antonio (10%, 128 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chula Vista walkable?
Chula Vista is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chula Vista without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chula Vista, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chula Vista
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.