With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of El Lago works elsewhere
For jobs and income El Lago is better than 92% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (B). 248 jobs are based in El Lago, and 1,300 of its residents work somewhere. Only 1% work in El Lago itself; outside it, Houston draws the most (34%, 25 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from El Lago, in brief
El Lago is a place people come home to
There are 248 jobs based in El Lago, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday El Lago has about 1,900 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
El Lago and Houston trade workers both ways
Houston is the top workplace for El Lago residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in El Lago come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in El Lago
The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.4%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, El Lago could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The workday shuffle in and out of El Lago
On a workday 1,287 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 235 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in El Lago on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
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 places El Lago commutes to
Where El Lago clocks in
34% of workers
7% 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.
In El Lago, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in El Lago, 2013 → 2023: 322 → 248. 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 El Lago’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 31 minutes from El Lago
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of El Lago workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,363 commuters (the 13% 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 commute from El Lago, by distance
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.
Most trips from El Lago start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 1,567 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.6% of El Lago households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of El Lago’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, El Lago is 291st among 4,618 U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 289 | Highlands CA | 2,450 | $250K | 3.9% | 4.7% | 2% | A |
| 290 | Paramount-Long Meadow MD | 2,569 | $122K | 2.9% | 2.6% | 1% | A |
| 291 | El Lago TX | 2,984 | $96K | 2.4% | 3.5% | 1% | A |
| 292 | Nockamixon Township PA | 3,370 | $105K | 6.1% | 0.6% | 10% | A |
| 293 | Hideaway TX | 3,459 | $110K | 2.7% | 0.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 El Lago, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Work in the towns next to El Lago
The biggest share goes to Pasadena (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | El Lago workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Lago | – | A | B | 31 min | $95,625 |
| Seabrook | 3% | B+ | B− | 29 min | $102,726 |
| Taylor Lake Village | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $165,875 |
| Pasadena | 6% | C | B | 27 min | $64,927 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of El Lago’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 El Lago: questions
What is the median household income in El Lago?
$95,625 (±$22,207) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in El Lago?
2.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from El Lago?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in El Lago work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (34%, 25 mi), League City (7%, 7 mi), Pasadena (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is El Lago walkable?
El Lago is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around El Lago without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from El Lago, from the people who make the trip.
More of El Lago
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.