Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Crystal City trail those of 98% of U.S. towns
38.2% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.8% across Texas. The two grades for Crystal City are D for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, where Texas as a whole has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Crystal City in brief
Crystal City’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Crystal City is San Antonio, 95 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (368) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Crystal City 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 ↓
Most jobs in Crystal City go to people who live here
Of the 1,754 jobs based in Crystal City, 46% are held by Crystal City residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
42% 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 ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Crystal City
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Crystal City is better than 11% of U.S. towns, #586 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Crystal City’s grade up (3.1%, 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, Crystal City could be anywhere from D− to C−.
How far Crystal City’s workers travel
About 42% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of Texas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Crystal City workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,282 commuters (the 4% 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.
In and out of Crystal City on a workday
On a workday 1,872 residents head out to work, 808 work right here, and 946 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,900 people are in Crystal City on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.65 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 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Crystal City to work: where people go
Where Crystal City clocks in
14% of workers
9% of workers
4% 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 Crystal City’s employers do
1,754 jobs are based in Crystal City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Crystal City, 2014 → 2024: 1,483 → 1,754. 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 Crystal City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Crystal City: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Crystal City is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #163 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% of 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 2,389 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). 9.1% of Crystal City households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Crystal City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Crystal City sits among U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Garden Ridge TX | 4,371 | $177K | 0.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,134 | Wapato WA | 4,469 | $52K | 24.5% | 7.9% | 14% | D |
| 3,135 | Wadena MN | 4,341 | $56K | 17.7% | 6.2% | 39% | D |
| 3,136 | Crystal City TX | 5,871 | $36K | 38.2% | 3.1% | 30% | D |
| 3,137 | Hoopeston IL | 4,676 | $61K | 15.6% | 7.6% | 25% | D |
| 3,138 | Waynesboro MS | 4,495 | $32K | 28.2% | 3.8% | 30% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 3% | 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 Crystal City, 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 Crystal City: questions
What is the median household income in Crystal City?
$36,328 (±$4,479) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Crystal City?
38.2%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Crystal City?
17 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Crystal City work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Antonio (14%, 95 mi), Carrizo Springs (9%, 12 mi), Eagle Pass (4%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Crystal City walkable?
Crystal City is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Crystal City 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 Crystal City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Crystal City
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.