Unemployment in Joshua (2.7%) is lower than in 75% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Joshua is better than 55% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (C). Only 6% work in Joshua itself; outside it, Fort Worth draws the most (24%, 22 miles). Commuters spend 30 minutes getting to work on average; Texas averages 27, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Joshua: the gist
Joshua’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Joshua is Fort Worth, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 24% of working residents (990) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Joshua has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Joshua went from 1,767 in 2013 to 2,474 in 2023, +40%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Joshua gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Job access by car holds Joshua’s grade up (ahead of 81% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.2%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Joshua could be anywhere from C to A−.
Near or far: the trip to work from Joshua
About 16% 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.
Inside Joshua’s 2,474 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Joshua, 2013 → 2023: 1,767 → 2,474. 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 Joshua’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Joshua: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,861 residents head out to work, 264 work right here, and 2,210 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,700 people are in Joshua on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
Where the trip to work from Joshua ends
Where Joshua clocks in
24% of workers
9% 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.
How long Joshua spends getting to work: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Joshua workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,723 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.
Most trips from Joshua start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% 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 4,061 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). 3.7% of Joshua households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Joshua’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,600, Joshua ranks 1,568th of 2,867 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Oak Point TX | 6,909 | $126K | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,566 | Pocono Township PA | 10,902 | $105K | 9.4% | 5.7% | 18% | B− |
| 1,567 | Grover Beach CA | 12,456 | $86K | 11.8% | 4.3% | 7% | B− |
| 1,568 | Joshua TX | 9,352 | $68K | 19.2% | 2.7% | 6% | B− |
| 1,569 | Middletown PA | 9,776 | $56K | 12.4% | 2.9% | 4% | B− |
| 1,570 | Wells ME | 12,094 | $88K | 6.8% | 6.2% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,867 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Joshua, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Joshua and its neighbors: 14% work next door
The biggest share goes to Burleson (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Joshua’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 Joshua: questions
What is the median household income in Joshua?
$68,117 (±$20,304) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Joshua?
19.2%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Joshua?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Joshua work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Worth (24%, 22 mi), Burleson (9%, 5 mi), Cleburne (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Joshua walkable?
Joshua is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Joshua without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Joshua, from the people who make the trip.
More of Joshua
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.