Household incomes in La Feria trail those of 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn La Feria C; getting around on foot earns it B. Below the poverty line: 25.0% of residents, against 13.8% across Texas. 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from La Feria, in brief
La Feria and Harlingen trade workers both ways
Harlingen is the top workplace for La Feria residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in La Feria come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
La Feria has added jobs fast
Jobs based in La Feria went from 1,062 in 2013 to 1,733 in 2023, +63%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from La Feria are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of La Feria workers earn over $40,000 a year
41% of La Feria’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in La Feria pay little
28% of the jobs based in La Feria pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
La Feria’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Feria is better than 30% of U.S. towns, #428 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds La Feria’s grade up (ahead of 73% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($45,081, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Feria could be anywhere from C− to B−.
26% of working residents work in Harlingen
Where La Feria clocks in
26% of workers
8% 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 kinds of work in La Feria
1,733 jobs are based in La Feria.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Feria, 2013 → 2023: 1,062 → 1,733. 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 La Feria’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from La Feria: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Feria workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,631 commuters (the 4% 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.
La Feria by day and by night
On a workday 2,122 residents head out to work, 109 work right here, and 1,624 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Short hops and long hauls from La Feria
About 21% 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.
Few in La Feria walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Feria is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #226 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 2,754 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). 5.7% of La Feria households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Feria’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, La Feria is 2,352nd of 3,094 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,350 | Mayfield NY | 6,073 | $72K | 15.3% | 4.7% | 9% | C |
| 2,351 | West Modesto CA | 5,978 | $61K | 12.4% | 12.1% | 1% | C |
| 2,352 | La Feria TX | 7,222 | $45K | 25.0% | 3.8% | 5% | C |
| 2,353 | Tobyhanna Township PA | 8,380 | $90K | 14.3% | 12.0% | 12% | C |
| 2,354 | Avon CO | 6,184 | $89K | 12.2% | 8.1% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,094 | 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 La Feria, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
How La Feria compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Feria workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Feria | – | C | B | 20 min | $45,081 |
| La Feria North | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
| Solis | under 3% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Bixby | under 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Bluetown | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. La Feria North, Solis, Bixby and Bluetown: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of La Feria’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 La Feria: questions
What is the median household income in La Feria?
$45,081 (±$5,300) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Feria?
25.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Feria?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Feria work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harlingen (26%, 8 mi), Weslaco (8%, 10 mi), Brownsville (8%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Feria walkable?
La Feria is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Feria without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Feria, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Feria
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.