Houston draws more than half of Fresno’s working residents
Working residents average 34 minutes each way, next to 27 for Texas and 26 for the U.S. For jobs and income Fresno is better than 80% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (C−). Hardly any work in Fresno; the top destination outside it is Houston (53%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Fresno: the gist
Fresno is a place people come home to
There are 522 jobs based in Fresno, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Fresno has about 14,000 people in it, 44% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fresno makes and builds things
49% of the jobs based in Fresno are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Fresno residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 12%. The jobs ↓
Fresno workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Fresno
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fresno could be anywhere from B to A.
The daily commute in and out of Fresno
On a workday 11,221 residents head out to work, 47 work right here, and 475 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Fresno on a workday afternoon, 44% fewer than live here.
0.05 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 2023, primary jobs.
Fresno makes things: 49% of its jobs are in goods
522 jobs are based in Fresno.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fresno, 2013 → 2023: 589 → 522. 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 Fresno’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Fresno takes about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fresno workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,775 commuters (the 10% 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.
Where people from Fresno work
Where Fresno clocks in
53% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Fresno
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.
In Fresno, 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 14,222 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 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 1.3% of Fresno households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Fresno’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Fresno ranks: 590th of 1,642 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Colleyville TX | 25,727 | $218K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Corinth TX | 25,297 | $121K | 3.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 588 | North Olmsted OH | 31,542 | $84K | 8.3% | 3.0% | 8% | A− |
| 589 | Red Oak TX | 20,394 | $105K | 5.2% | 6.0% | 3% | A− |
| 590 | Fresno TX | 24,560 | $91K | 8.6% | 3.7% | <1% | A− |
| 591 | Carrboro NC | 20,962 | $86K | 12.2% | 3.6% | 7% | A− |
| 592 | Eastern Goleta Valley CA | 28,295 | $146K | 7.9% | 3.9% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Fresno, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door is work for 56% of Fresno
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fresno workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno | – | A− | C− | 34 min | $91,264 |
| Houston | 53% | C+ | A | 27 min | $64,813 |
| Missouri City | 3% | A− | B− | 30 min | $94,390 |
| Arcola | under 1% | B | C− | 35 min | $75,086 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Houston. Darker towns draw more of Fresno’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 Fresno: questions
What is the median household income in Fresno?
$91,264 (±$7,207) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fresno?
8.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fresno?
34 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fresno work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (53%, 18 mi), Sugar Land (7%, 11 mi), Pearland (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fresno walkable?
Fresno is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fresno without a car?
<1% 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 Fresno, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fresno
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.