Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0For about half of its working residents, Katy is a commute to Houston
Measured by household income, Katy is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Katy B+; getting around on foot earns it B. The trip to work takes 31 minutes 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
The work figures that set Katy apart
Jobs in Katy have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Katy went from 7,851 in 2013 to 28,202 in 2023, +259%. The jobs ↓
Katy is where the jobs are
Katy has 28,202 jobs, 2.8 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 46,000 people are in town, 63% more than the 28,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly half of Katy works in Houston
4,948 working residents, 49%, have their main job in Houston. That’s 4 times as many as work in Katy itself. The commute map ↓
Katy draws workers from far and wide
The 28,202 jobs in Katy are filled from a wide area. Katy’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 75% come from many towns beyond those. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The figures behind Katy’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Katy is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #191 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Katy’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Katy could be anywhere from B to A.
What the 28,202 jobs in Katy are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Katy, 2013 → 2023: 7,851 → 28,202. 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 Katy’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Katy nearly doubles on a workday
On a workday 8,859 residents head out to work, 1,336 work right here, and 26,866 people come in from elsewhere.
About 46,000 people are in Katy on a workday afternoon, 63% more than live here.
2.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Who travels to work in Katy, and from where
Where Katy clocks in
49% of workers
2% 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 Katy spends getting to work: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Katy workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,136 commuters (the 18% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Katy
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 commute in Katy is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Katy is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #206 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Katy 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 11,146 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.4% of Katy households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Katy’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000, Katy ranks 659th of 1,409 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 4 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Colleyville TX | 25,727 | $218K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Corinth TX | 25,297 | $121K | 3.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 657 | University Place WA | 35,479 | $99K | 8.2% | 5.1% | 6% | B+ |
| 658 | Richfield MN | 36,593 | $85K | 8.2% | 5.3% | 6% | B+ |
| 659 | Katy TX | 28,373 | $115K | 8.1% | 7.4% | 13% | B+ |
| 660 | Vernon Township NJ | 22,965 | $116K | 4.2% | 5.4% | 11% | B+ |
| 661 | Coral Terrace FL | 24,895 | $80K | 10.8% | 3.8% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Katy, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
49% of Katy works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Houston. Darker towns draw more of Katy’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 Katy: questions
What is the median household income in Katy?
$114,912 (±$16,083) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Katy?
8.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Katy?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Katy work?
13% work in town.
Is Katy walkable?
Katy is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Katy without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Katy, from the people who make the trip.
More of Katy
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.