Photo: Theunderratedtaco · CC BY 4.0More people are out of work in Edinburg (6.1%) than in 75% of U.S. towns
Edinburg grades C for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 26.0% of residents are in poverty; Texas has 13.8%. Household incomes here are lower than in 75% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Edinburg
Edinburg and McAllen trade workers both ways
McAllen is the top workplace for Edinburg residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Edinburg come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Edinburg residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Edinburg are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 38 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Edinburg
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Edinburg is better than 28% of U.S. towns, #441 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Edinburg’s grade up (ahead of 81% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Edinburg could be anywhere from C− to C+.
21% of working residents work in McAllen
Where Edinburg clocks in
21% of workers
8% 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.
Edinburg’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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Edinburg
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Edinburg workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 39,735 commuters (the 11% 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 flow of workers through Edinburg
On a workday 26,615 residents head out to work, 11,071 work right here, and 36,390 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 (1.26 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Edinburg
47,461 jobs are based in Edinburg.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Edinburg, 2014 → 2024: 38,340 → 47,461. 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 Edinburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Edinburg gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Edinburg is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #261 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Edinburg 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 44,421 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). 5.4% of Edinburg households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Edinburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
350th of 390: where Edinburg ranks among U.S. towns of 77,000 to 149,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Flower Mound TX | 79,540 | $161K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Allen TX | 113,447 | $131K | 6.1% | 3.7% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 348 | Warner Robins GA | 87,761 | $67K | 14.2% | 6.4% | 27% | C |
| 349 | Pueblo CO | 110,404 | $57K | 17.5% | 5.0% | 51% | C |
| 350 | Edinburg TX | 110,700 | $59K | 26.0% | 6.1% | 29% | C |
| 351 | Yuma AZ | 105,227 | $65K | 15.5% | 6.3% | 59% | C |
| 352 | Albany NY | 101,698 | $62K | 22.9% | 7.8% | 44% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 390 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Edinburg, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
The towns next door employ 21% of Edinburg
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Edinburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburg | – | C | B− | 22 min | $59,466 |
| Murillo | under 2% | C | D | 21 min | $70,609 |
| César Chávez | under 2% | — | C− | 12 min | — |
| Doolittle | under 2% | D | D− | 25 min | $36,109 |
| McAllen | 21% | C | B | 22 min | $61,579 |
| Lopezville | under 2% | C− | D | 22 min | $38,207 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to McAllen. Darker towns draw more of Edinburg’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 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 Edinburg: questions
What is the median household income in Edinburg?
$59,466 (±$3,555) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Edinburg?
26.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Edinburg?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Edinburg work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McAllen (21%, 9 mi), Pharr (8%, 11 mi), Mission (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Edinburg walkable?
Edinburg is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Edinburg without a car?
<1% 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 Edinburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Edinburg
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.