Household incomes in Fort Hancock are lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
12.3% of residents live below the poverty line (Texas 13.8%). For jobs and income Fort Hancock is better than 7% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (D). Only 3% stay in Fort Hancock for work; outside it, El Paso is the main destination (22%, 52 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Fort Hancock, in brief
Fort Hancock’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Fort Hancock is El Paso, 52 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (65) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
54% 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 ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Fort Hancock than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Fort Hancock fell from 406 in 2014 to 56 in 2024, −86%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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; with 298 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Fort Hancock
The poverty rate holds Fort Hancock’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.2%) is left out: Fort Hancock’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Fort Hancock could be anywhere from D− to C+.
The commute from Fort Hancock, by distance
About 54% 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.
Fort Hancock makes things: 46% of its jobs are in goods
56 jobs are based in Fort Hancock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fort Hancock, 2014 → 2024: 406 → 56. 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 Fort Hancock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Fort Hancock, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 290 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Fort Hancock on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.19 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Fort Hancock to work: where people go
Where Fort Hancock clocks in
22% 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.
Fort Hancock’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fort Hancock workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 705 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.
In Fort Hancock, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 809 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). 7.5% of Fort Hancock households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fort Hancock’s commuters take a bus or train.
Fort Hancock places 4,709th of 5,400 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Seis Lagos TX | 1,391 | $249K | 1.2% | 4.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Rollingwood TX | 1,466 | $240K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| 30 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,707 | White Eyes Township OH | 1,235 | $35K | 16.4% | 2.3% | 3% | D |
| 4,708 | Orange Township OH | 1,045 | $64K | 22.0% | 5.1% | 3% | D |
| 4,709 | Fort Hancock TX | 1,345 | $48K | 12.3% | 3.2% | 3% | D |
| 4,710 | Malvern AL | 1,701 | $44K | 35.5% | 2.1% | 2% | D |
| 4,711 | Paonia CO | 1,477 | $60K | 17.1% | 5.8% | 17% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Fort Hancock, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
The towns around Fort Hancock
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fort Hancock workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Hancock | – | D | D | 29 min | $48,000 |
| Acala | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Acala: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fort Hancock’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 Fort Hancock: questions
What is the median household income in Fort Hancock?
$48,000 (±$16,385) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fort Hancock?
12.3%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fort Hancock?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fort Hancock work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are El Paso (22%, 52 mi), Dell City (5%, 59 mi), Sierra Blanca (3%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Fort Hancock walkable?
Fort Hancock is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fort Hancock without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fort Hancock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fort Hancock
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.