Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in La Grange earn less than those in 83% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, against 14% across Texas. 10.9% of residents are in poverty, where Texas as a whole has 13.8%. For jobs and income La Grange is better than 38% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set La Grange apart
Commutes from La Grange are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
La Grange’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside La Grange is Austin, 59 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (233) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
La Grange trades workers with the towns around it
La Grange has about as many jobs (2,164) as working residents (2,097), but they are mostly different people: 1,725 residents leave for work each day while 1,792 people come in. Only 17% of the jobs in La Grange are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
48% 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 ↓
Few La Grange workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Jobs & income in La Grange: the grade in detail
Unemployment holds La Grange’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($53,547, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Grange could be anywhere from C− to B.
Getting to work from La Grange takes about 13 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Grange workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,052 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.
The commute from La Grange, by distance
About 48% 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.
La Grange on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,725 residents head out to work, 372 work right here, and 1,792 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 (1.03 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.
11% of working residents work in Austin
Where La Grange clocks in
11% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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 work there is in La Grange: 2,164 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Grange, 2013 → 2023: 2,721 → 2,164. 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 Grange’s own residents hold wherever they work.
For most of La Grange, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 2,128 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). 11.7% of La Grange households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Grange’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,501st of 3,862: where La Grange ranks among U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 7 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,499 | Harrisburg OR | 3,765 | $74K | 8.9% | 8.1% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,500 | Aurora IN | 3,533 | $47K | 18.5% | 1.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,501 | La Grange TX | 4,509 | $54K | 10.9% | 2.4% | 18% | C+ |
| 2,502 | Columbia Township IN | 3,528 | $55K | 9.3% | 4.1% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,503 | Naples Manor FL | 5,501 | $65K | 23.5% | 3.4% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | 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 La Grange, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
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 Grange: questions
What is the median household income in La Grange?
$53,547 (±$6,388) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Grange?
10.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Grange?
13 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 Grange work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (11%, 59 mi), San Antonio (4%, 104 mi), Houston (3%, 90 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Grange walkable?
La Grange is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Grange without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Grange, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Grange
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.