Fewer people are out of work in La Paloma (1.5%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
Hardly any work in La Paloma itself; outside it, Harlingen draws the most (21%, 10 miles). La Paloma grades C+ for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 24% of workers; Texas has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in La Paloma: the gist
La Paloma is a place people come home to
There are 34 jobs based in La Paloma, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday La Paloma has about 1,700 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of La Paloma works from home
24% of La Paloma workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of La Paloma workers earn over $40,000 a year
42% of La Paloma’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 ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
La Paloma’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Paloma is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #325 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds La Paloma’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (24.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Paloma could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The daily flow of workers through La Paloma
On a workday 1,132 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 29 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in La Paloma on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.03 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 2024, primary jobs.
About 29 minutes to work from La Paloma
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Paloma workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 902 commuters (the 24% 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.
What work there is in La Paloma: 34 jobs
34 jobs are based in La Paloma.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Paloma, 2014 → 2024: 9 → 34. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Paloma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of La Paloma: the destinations
Where La Paloma clocks in
21% of workers
20% 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.
Miles to work from La Paloma
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
La Paloma is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Paloma is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns, #635 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place La Paloma 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 1,182 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). 7.9% of La Paloma households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Paloma’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800, La Paloma comes 2,534th on jobs and income
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,532 | Franklin Township MI | 3,047 | $90K | 7.3% | 6.8% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,533 | Benton NY | 3,014 | $75K | 19.4% | 0.9% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,534 | La Paloma TX | 2,797 | $60K | 24.8% | 1.5% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,535 | Centerville TN | 3,589 | $59K | 9.6% | 1.5% | 25% | C+ |
| 2,536 | Dodds Township IL | 2,682 | $62K | 7.7% | 4.2% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 Paloma, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
12% of La Paloma works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Paloma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Paloma | – | C+ | D− | 29 min | $59,840 |
| San Benito | 12% | C− | B− | 18 min | $43,639 |
| Palmer | under 2% | D | D− | 24 min | $18,675 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to San Benito. Darker towns draw more of La Paloma’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 2024, 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 Paloma: questions
What is the median household income in La Paloma?
$59,840 (±$17,280) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Paloma?
24.8%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Paloma?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Paloma work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harlingen (21%, 10 mi), Brownsville (20%, 12 mi), San Benito (12%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is La Paloma walkable?
La Paloma is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Paloma without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Paloma, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Paloma
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.