Photo: Jim Evans · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Columbus earn less than those in 89% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Columbus for work; outside it, Houston is the main destination (20%, 70 miles). The poverty rate is 31.5%, against 13.8% across Texas. Jobs and income earn Columbus C−; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Columbus: the gist
Columbus’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Columbus is Houston, 70 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (326) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
49% 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 Columbus are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 46 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.
The figures behind Columbus’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Columbus is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #546 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Columbus’ grade up (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbus could be anywhere from D− to C.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Columbus
About 49% 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.
Commuting from Columbus: about 21 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,226 commuters (the 9% 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 daily commute in and out of Columbus
On a workday 1,258 residents head out to work, 385 work right here, and 1,987 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Columbus on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Columbus: the destinations
Where Columbus clocks in
20% 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.
What work there is in Columbus: 2,372 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 2,307 → 2,372. 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 Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Columbus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbus is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #18 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Columbus 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 1,352 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). 8.6% of Columbus households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Columbus’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Columbus ranks: 3,649th of 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,647 | Franklinton NC | 2,890 | $59K | 17.2% | 9.6% | 2% | C− |
| 3,648 | Wilson's Mills NC | 2,987 | $63K | 31.9% | 10.7% | 1% | C− |
| 3,649 | Columbus TX | 3,821 | $49K | 31.5% | 3.2% | 23% | C− |
| 3,650 | Lowville NY | 4,869 | $69K | 16.2% | 6.4% | 35% | C− |
| 3,651 | San Manuel AZ | 3,491 | $48K | 22.0% | 2.4% | 12% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | 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 Columbus, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
How Columbus compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Columbus’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 Columbus: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus?
$49,418 (±$10,091) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus?
31.5%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (20%, 70 mi), Austin (2%, 83 mi), Weimar (2%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbus walkable?
Columbus is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus
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.