El Refugio has 0.0 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The trip to work takes 14 minutes on average, where Texas has 27 and the U.S. 26. 2 jobs are based in El Refugio; 126 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in El Refugio itself; outside it, Rio Grande City draws the most (20%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves El Refugio for work, and who comes in
On a workday 126 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 2 people come in from elsewhere.
About 660 people are in El Refugio on a workday afternoon, 16% 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.
Where the trip to work from El Refugio ends
Where El Refugio clocks in
10% 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.
In El Refugio, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in El Refugio, 2013 → 2023: 36 → 2. 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 Refugio’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From El Refugio, about 14 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of El Refugio workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 225 commuters (the 19% 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 distance from El Refugio to work
About 31% 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.
El Refugio and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | El Refugio workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Refugio | – | — | — | 14 min | $47,440 |
| La Puerta | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
| Garza-Salinas II | under 3% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. La Puerta and Garza-Salinas II: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of El Refugio’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 Refugio: questions
What is the median household income in El Refugio?
$47,440 (±$25,133) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in El Refugio?
60.5%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from El Refugio?
14 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in El Refugio work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rio Grande City (20%, 5 mi), McAllen (10%, 33 mi), Mission (6%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around El Refugio without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from El Refugio, from the people who make the trip.
More of El Refugio
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.