Photo: Montewalker1 · CC BY-SA 4.0Howe has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 189 jobs in Howe; 1,550 of its residents have a job. Howe grades C+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Howe
Fewer jobs are based in Howe than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Howe fell from 1,540 in 2013 to 189 in 2023, −88%. 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 ↓
Howe is a place people come home to
There are 189 jobs based in Howe, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Howe has about 2,300 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Howe and Sherman trade workers both ways
Sherman is the top workplace for Howe residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Howe come from (15% of its jobs). 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.
What’s behind Howe’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Howe is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #370 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Howe’s grade up (2.9%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (24.3%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Howe could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Jobs in Howe: what the 189 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Howe, 2013 → 2023: 1,540 → 189. 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 Howe’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Howe, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,543 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 182 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Howe on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
18% of working residents work in Sherman
Where Howe clocks in
18% 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.
The daily trip from Howe: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Howe workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,552 commuters (the 8% 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 in the region Howe works
About 22% 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.
Most trips from Howe start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Howe is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns, #576 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,694 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). 5.3% of Howe households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Howe’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Howe is 2,806th among 4,318 U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,804 | Crooked Lake Park FL | 2,641 | $60K | 34.4% | 0.9% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,805 | Alturas FL | 4,581 | $70K | 15.5% | 3.7% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,806 | Howe TX | 3,686 | $51K | 24.3% | 2.9% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,807 | Fennimore WI | 2,775 | $62K | 15.1% | 2.0% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,808 | Cheshire MA | 3,180 | $70K | 8.6% | 4.6% | 8% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Howe, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door is work for 18% of Howe
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Sherman. Darker towns draw more of Howe’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 Howe: questions
What is the median household income in Howe?
$51,108 (±$23,348) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Howe?
24.3%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Howe?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Howe work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sherman (18%, 8 mi), McKinney (8%, 21 mi), Dallas (6%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Howe walkable?
Howe is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Howe without a car?
0% 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 Howe, from the people who make the trip.
More of Howe
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.