Groves has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers (Texas 14%). 2,354 jobs are based in Groves, against 6,813 working residents. Jobs and income earn Groves B; getting around on foot earns it C.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Groves at work: what stands out
Commutes from Groves are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Groves workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Groves
59% of Groves residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Groves pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Groves pay little
26% of the jobs based in Groves pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
Jobs & income in Groves: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Groves is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #246 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Groves’ grade up (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($73,710, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Groves could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Groves’ commute takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Groves workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,584 commuters (the 3% 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 kinds of work in Groves
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Groves, 2013 → 2023: 2,557 → 2,354. 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 Groves’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Groves on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,431 residents head out to work, 382 work right here, and 1,972 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Groves on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
17% of working residents work in Beaumont
Where Groves clocks in
17% of workers
16% of workers
8% 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.
Groves’ commute, mile by mile
About 30% 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.
Few in Groves walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Groves is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns, #429 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,805 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). 4.9% of Groves households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Groves’ commuters take a bus or train.
1,073rd of 1,999: where Groves ranks among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,071 | Sherrelwood CO | 18,692 | $75K | 10.7% | 5.0% | 1% | B |
| 1,072 | Moody AL | 13,559 | $87K | 7.7% | 5.7% | 5% | B |
| 1,073 | Groves TX | 16,907 | $74K | 8.0% | 4.1% | 6% | B |
| 1,074 | Sullivan NY | 14,623 | $81K | 8.2% | 3.9% | 10% | B |
| 1,075 | Silverdale WA | 20,685 | $105K | 6.2% | 5.4% | 16% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Groves, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
23% of Groves works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Port Arthur (16%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Groves workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groves | – | B | C | 21 min | $73,710 |
| Port Neches | 7% | C+ | B+ | 18 min | $81,637 |
| Port Arthur | 16% | D | B− | 23 min | $46,354 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Groves’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 Groves: questions
What is the median household income in Groves?
$73,710 (±$10,238) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Groves?
8.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Groves?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Groves work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beaumont (17%, 17 mi), Port Arthur (16%, 3 mi), Houston (8%, 89 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Groves walkable?
Groves is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Groves without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Groves, from the people who make the trip.
More of Groves
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.