Killeen High School · Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0At 9.7%, unemployment in Killeen is higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Killeen are C− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. About one in five work in Killeen itself; outside it, Austin draws the most (11%, 54 miles). Household incomes here are lower than in 72% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Killeen apart on work
Killeen’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Killeen is Austin, 54 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (5,178) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Killeen
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Killeen is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #518 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Killeen’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Killeen stays C−.
The distance from Killeen to work
About 38% 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.
Killeen on a workday afternoon
On a workday 38,031 residents head out to work, 10,732 work right here, and 17,305 people come in from elsewhere.
About 141,000 people are in Killeen on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.57 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 Killeen goes to work
Where Killeen clocks in
11% 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 28,037 jobs based in Killeen
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Killeen, 2013 → 2023: 22,542 → 28,037. 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 Killeen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Killeen: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Killeen workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 65,484 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.
Few in Killeen walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Killeen is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #343 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Killeen 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 71,040 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). 5.0% of Killeen households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Killeen’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Killeen compares with U.S. towns of 113,000 to 219,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 3 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Allen TX | 113,447 | $131K | 6.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 8 | League City TX | 119,905 | $121K | 5.4% | 3.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Augusta GA | 206,559 | $56K | 20.0% | 8.5% | 48% | C− |
| 194 | Waterbury CT | 115,771 | $52K | 24.7% | 9.3% | 25% | C− |
| 195 | Killeen TX | 161,883 | $61K | 17.4% | 9.7% | 22% | C− |
| 196 | Hartford CT | 121,981 | $46K | 26.3% | 10.7% | 27% | C− |
| 197 | Syracuse NY | 144,896 | $48K | 28.8% | 7.7% | 43% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 202 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Killeen, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
The towns around Killeen
The biggest share goes to Harker Heights (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Killeen workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killeen | – | C− | C+ | 26 min | $60,977 |
| Harker Heights | 4% | B | C+ | 24 min | $81,190 |
| Fort Cavazos | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Fort Cavazos: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Killeen’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 Killeen: questions
What is the median household income in Killeen?
$60,977 (±$1,928) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Killeen?
17.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Killeen?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Killeen work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (11%, 54 mi), Temple (10%, 20 mi), Harker Heights (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Killeen walkable?
Killeen is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Killeen without a car?
<1% 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 Killeen, from the people who make the trip.
More of Killeen
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.