Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0George West has lower household incomes than 90% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 13.6%; Texas has 13.8%. George West grades D for jobs and income and B for walkability. At home: 1% of workers have no commute at all (Texas 14%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in George West: the gist
George West’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside George West is Corpus Christi, 70 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (116) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
52% 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 George West than ten years ago
Jobs counted in George West fell from 1,766 in 2013 to 627 in 2023, −64%. 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 850 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in George West: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, George West is better than 14% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds George West’s grade up (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, George West could be anywhere from D− to B−.
The distance from George West to work
About 52% 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 kinds of work in George West
627 jobs are based in George West.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in George West, 2013 → 2023: 1,766 → 627. 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 George West’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in George West by day
On a workday 703 residents head out to work, 147 work right here, and 480 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in George West on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
14% of working residents work in Corpus Christi
Where George West clocks in
14% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
Each way, about 18 minutes from George West
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of George West workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,189 commuters (the 1% 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 George West, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, George West is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place George West 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 1,205 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). 7.7% of George West households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of George West’s commuters take a bus or train.
How George West ranks: 4,111th of 5,102 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Southside Place TX | 1,916 | $163K | 5.0% | 5.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Bartonville TX | 1,937 | $149K | 4.3% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,109 | Leon IA | 1,773 | $54K | 10.7% | 0.8% | 22% | D |
| 4,110 | Crooksville OH | 2,404 | $47K | 30.7% | 3.8% | 9% | D |
| 4,111 | George West TX | 2,238 | $48K | 13.6% | 4.5% | 17% | D |
| 4,112 | Butman Township MI | 2,137 | $62K | 11.7% | 3.2% | 3% | D |
| 4,113 | Jonesboro IL | 1,635 | $59K | 20.9% | 1.3% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 George West, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
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 George West: questions
What is the median household income in George West?
$48,415 (±$12,599) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in George West?
13.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from George West?
18 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in George West work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Corpus Christi (14%, 70 mi), Three Rivers (5%, 10 mi), Houston (5%, 193 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is George West walkable?
George West is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around George West 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 George West, from the people who make the trip.
More of George West
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.