Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0More people are out of work in Hidalgo (8.8%) than in 91% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Hidalgo is behind 75% of U.S. towns. Hidalgo grades C− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. 6% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Hidalgo in brief
Hidalgo and McAllen trade workers both ways
McAllen is the top workplace for Hidalgo residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Hidalgo come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Hidalgo than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hidalgo fell from 6,407 in 2013 to 3,964 in 2023, −38%. 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 ↓
Fewer than half of Hidalgo workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Hidalgo’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Hidalgo 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 ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Hidalgo are in trade, transport and utilities, against 26% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Hidalgo’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hidalgo is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #496 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Hidalgo’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hidalgo could be anywhere from C− to C+.
26% of working residents work in McAllen
Where Hidalgo clocks in
26% of workers
17% of workers
7% 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.
The 3,964 jobs based in Hidalgo
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hidalgo, 2013 → 2023: 6,407 → 3,964. 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 Hidalgo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Hidalgo’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hidalgo workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,253 commuters (the 5% 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 and out of Hidalgo on a workday
On a workday 4,747 residents head out to work, 527 work right here, and 3,437 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from Hidalgo
About 17% 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.
Hidalgo is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hidalgo is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns, #394 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Hidalgo 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 6,614 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). 2.8% of Hidalgo households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hidalgo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hidalgo next to U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000: 1,801st of 2,109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 4 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,799 | College Park GA | 13,887 | $52K | 20.7% | 17.0% | 10% | C− |
| 1,800 | Washington PA | 13,377 | $53K | 16.8% | 8.2% | 15% | C− |
| 1,801 | Hidalgo TX | 15,376 | $59K | 21.1% | 8.8% | 10% | C− |
| 1,802 | Tifton GA | 17,595 | $45K | 23.5% | 3.4% | 33% | C− |
| 1,803 | New Castle IN | 17,390 | $52K | 20.1% | 4.9% | 23% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | 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 Hidalgo, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Work next door: 26% of Hidalgo’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to McAllen. Darker towns draw more of Hidalgo’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 Hidalgo: questions
What is the median household income in Hidalgo?
$59,441 (±$4,786) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hidalgo?
21.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hidalgo?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hidalgo work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McAllen (26%, 8 mi), Pharr (17%, 5 mi), Edinburg (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hidalgo walkable?
Hidalgo is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hidalgo without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hidalgo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hidalgo
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.