Photo: Nsaum75 · CC BY-SA 3.0Galveston draws 27,230 commuters a day, with 1.8 jobs for every working resident
Household incomes here are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns. There are 37,299 jobs in Galveston, against 20,818 working residents. Galveston grades C for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Galveston: the figures worth knowing
Galveston’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Galveston is Houston, 49 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (3,483) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Galveston is where the jobs are
Galveston has 37,299 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Galveston are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
The biggest group of Galveston’s workers comes from League City
3,969 of the people who work in Galveston live in League City, 23 miles away, more than from any other town. 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.
Inside Galveston’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Galveston is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #466 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Galveston’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Galveston could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Short hops and long hauls from Galveston
About 26% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Galveston
On a workday 10,749 residents head out to work and 10,069 work right here.
About 70,000 people are in Galveston on a workday afternoon, 31% more 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.
Time on the road from Galveston: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Galveston workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,191 commuters (the 12% 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.
Commuting in to Galveston: where workers come from
Where Galveston clocks in
17% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Galveston
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Galveston, 2013 → 2023: 29,169 → 37,299. 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 Galveston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Galveston
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Galveston is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #13 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Galveston 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 24,126 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). 10.7% of Galveston households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Galveston’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Galveston compares with U.S. towns of 38,000 to 72,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| 4 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Coppell TX | 41,386 | $146K | 5.4% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 734 | Casa Grande AZ | 69,753 | $70K | 13.5% | 6.1% | 23% | C |
| 735 | Bartlesville OK | 38,278 | $59K | 17.2% | 4.4% | 46% | C |
| 736 | Galveston TX | 53,636 | $56K | 21.4% | 5.8% | 48% | C |
| 737 | Passaic NJ | 71,337 | $55K | 22.9% | 12.5% | 12% | C |
| 738 | Bossier City LA | 63,259 | $56K | 20.8% | 6.5% | 26% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 815 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Galveston, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
How Galveston compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Texas City (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Galveston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galveston | – | C | A | 20 min | $55,631 |
| Texas City | 3% | C+ | B | 26 min | $68,776 |
| Tiki Island | under 1% | A+ | C− | 33 min | $129,063 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Galveston’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 Galveston: questions
What is the median household income in Galveston?
$55,631 (±$3,927) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Galveston?
21.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Galveston?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Galveston work?
48% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (17%, 49 mi), Texas City (3%, 17 mi), Pasadena (2%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Galveston walkable?
Galveston is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Galveston without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Galveston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Galveston
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.