Photo: StationNT5Bmedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Dayton (7.1%) is higher than in 83% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Dayton for work; outside it, Houston is the main destination (26%, 31 miles). For jobs and income Dayton is better than 23% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (D). Measured by household income, Dayton is behind 74% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Dayton: the figures worth knowing
Dayton trades workers with the towns around it
Dayton has about as many jobs (4,215) as working residents (3,941), but they are mostly different people: 3,558 residents leave for work each day while 3,832 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Dayton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Dayton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Dayton is Houston, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 26% of working residents (1,025) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Dayton makes and builds things
42% of the jobs based in Dayton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Dayton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
Dayton has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Dayton went from 2,808 in 2013 to 4,215 in 2023, +50%. The jobs ↓
Dayton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Dayton
Job access by car holds Dayton’s grade up (ahead of 69% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.6%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dayton could be anywhere from D to B.
A workday in Dayton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,558 residents head out to work, 383 work right here, and 3,832 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.07 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.
Dayton’s commute, mile by mile
About 21% 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.
Dayton works in goods: 42% of its jobs
4,215 jobs are based in Dayton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dayton, 2013 → 2023: 2,808 → 4,215. 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 Dayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Dayton spends getting to work: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dayton workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,406 commuters (the 10% 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.
Out of Dayton to work: where people go
Where Dayton clocks in
26% of workers
6% 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.
For most of Dayton, work means a drive
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 3,770 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). 12.4% of Dayton households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Dayton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Dayton ranks: 2,385th of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Lucas TX | 8,896 | $221K | 1.3% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,383 | Canteen Township IL | 7,714 | $50K | 27.1% | 7.1% | 5% | C− |
| 2,384 | Galena Park TX | 10,352 | $51K | 20.9% | 15.4% | 3% | C− |
| 2,385 | Dayton TX | 10,226 | $60K | 20.6% | 7.1% | 10% | C− |
| 2,386 | Rockland ME | 7,142 | $57K | 10.4% | 6.6% | 32% | C− |
| 2,387 | Melvindale MI | 12,325 | $42K | 39.1% | 6.1% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Dayton, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Dayton and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Liberty (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Dayton’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 Dayton: questions
What is the median household income in Dayton?
$59,691 (±$19,094) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dayton?
20.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dayton?
32 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dayton work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (26%, 31 mi), Baytown (6%, 17 mi), Liberty (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dayton walkable?
Dayton 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 Dayton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dayton
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.