Kemah has 2.5 jobs for every working resident: 2,371 people commute in to work
2,406 jobs are based in Kemah for 958 working residents. The two grades for Kemah are B− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 4% work in Kemah; the top destination outside it is Houston (30%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Kemah: the figures worth knowing
Kemah is where the jobs are
Kemah has 2,406 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,500 people are in town, 47% more than the 3,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
30% of Kemah works in Houston
283 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Houston, 28 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Kemah itself. The commute map ↓
Kemah has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Kemah went from 1,604 in 2013 to 2,406 in 2023, +50%. 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; with 958 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Kemah gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kemah is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #288 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Kemah’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (29.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kemah could be anywhere from C to A−.
Who leaves Kemah for work, and who comes in
On a workday 923 residents head out to work and 35 work right here.
About 4,500 people are in Kemah on a workday afternoon, 47% more 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.
The daily trip into Kemah
Where Kemah clocks in
30% of workers
9% 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.
What Kemah’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kemah, 2013 → 2023: 1,604 → 2,406. 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 Kemah’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Kemah: about 26 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kemah workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 991 commuters (the 19% 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 distance from Kemah to work
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.
For most of Kemah, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kemah is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #347 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% 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 1,221 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). 4.0% of Kemah households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kemah’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kemah places 2,124th of 4,562 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,122 | Shadybrook TX | 2,810 | $69K | 16.6% | 0.0% | 1% | B− |
| 2,123 | Northumberland PA | 3,800 | $66K | 17.1% | 1.4% | 7% | B− |
| 2,124 | Kemah TX | 3,097 | $85K | 29.4% | 4.5% | 4% | B− |
| 2,125 | Honey Creek Township IN | 2,303 | $85K | 5.2% | 7.0% | 3% | B− |
| 2,126 | Hopewell NY | 3,925 | $84K | 8.5% | 6.0% | 8% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | 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 Kemah, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
How Kemah compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to League City (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kemah workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kemah | – | B− | C+ | 26 min | $85,357 |
| Clear Lake Shores | under 3% | A− | B | 34 min | $111,818 |
| Bacliff | under 3% | C− | B | 29 min | $51,458 |
| League City | 9% | A | B− | 30 min | $121,099 |
| Seabrook | under 3% | B+ | B− | 29 min | $102,726 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kemah’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 Kemah: questions
What is the median household income in Kemah?
$85,357 (±$21,491) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kemah?
29.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kemah?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kemah work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (30%, 28 mi), League City (9%, 6 mi), Pasadena (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kemah walkable?
Kemah is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kemah 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 Kemah, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kemah
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.