For about two in five of its working residents, Early is a commute to Brownwood
Household incomes here are lower than in 62% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Early are C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 18 minutes, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Early apart on work
Commutes from Early are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Early gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Early is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #489 of 642 in Texas. The poverty rate holds Early’s grade up (10.6%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (7.6%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Early could be anywhere from D to A−.
Out of Early to work: where people go
Where Early clocks in
40% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
Early’s commute takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Early workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,319 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.
How far Early’s workers travel
About 37% 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.
How many people are in Early by day
On a workday 1,227 residents head out to work, 92 work right here, and 1,022 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 (0.84 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.
The 1,114 jobs based in Early
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Early, 2013 → 2023: 890 → 1,114. 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 Early’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Early gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Early is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #252 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 1,454 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). 2.1% of Early households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Early’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200, Early ranks 3,488th of 4,562 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,486 | South Glens Falls NY | 3,704 | $59K | 12.4% | 9.5% | 6% | C− |
| 3,487 | Mannford OK | 3,432 | $61K | 17.1% | 5.8% | 9% | C− |
| 3,488 | Early TX | 3,117 | $67K | 10.6% | 7.6% | 7% | C− |
| 3,489 | Union Township IN | 2,887 | $56K | 23.5% | 2.5% | 38% | C− |
| 3,490 | Benton Township MI | 3,158 | $68K | 10.3% | 5.3% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | 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 Early, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
40% of Early works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Brownwood. Darker towns draw more of Early’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 Early: questions
What is the median household income in Early?
$67,346 (±$16,686) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Early?
10.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Early?
18 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Early work?
7% work in town.
Is Early walkable?
Early is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Early without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Early, from the people who make the trip.
More of Early
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.