For more than half of its working residents, Live Oak is a commute to San Antonio
Only 5% work in Live Oak; the top destination outside it is San Antonio (53%, 13 miles). For jobs and income Live Oak is better than 75% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (B). The average commute takes 21 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Live Oak apart on work
More than half of Live Oak works in San Antonio
3,522 working residents, 53%, have their main job in San Antonio, 13 miles away across the town line. That’s 11 times as many as work in Live Oak itself. The commute map ↓
Live Oak is where the jobs are
Live Oak has 12,009 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Live Oak has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Live Oak went from 7,898 in 2013 to 12,009 in 2023, +52%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Live Oak are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker, and quicker than any town next door (25 to 30 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Live Oak is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Live Oak
Job access by car holds Live Oak’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Live Oak could be anywhere from B to A.
Where Live Oak’s workforce comes from
Where Live Oak clocks in
53% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Live Oak
On a workday 6,259 residents head out to work, 363 work right here, and 11,646 people come in from elsewhere.
About 22,000 people are in Live Oak on a workday afternoon, 33% more than live here.
1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Live Oak
12,009 jobs are based in Live Oak.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Live Oak, 2013 → 2023: 7,898 → 12,009. 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 Live Oak’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Live Oak, about 21 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Live Oak workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,230 commuters (the 15% 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.
Where in the region Live Oak works
About 20% 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.
Driving is how Live Oak gets around
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.0% across Texas, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,502 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.7% of Live Oak households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Live Oak’s commuters take a bus or train.
Live Oak places 879th of 2,220 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 4 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 877 | Griffith IN | 16,137 | $77K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 5% | A− |
| 878 | Stonington CT | 18,832 | $115K | 7.0% | 3.5% | 20% | A− |
| 879 | Live Oak TX | 16,426 | $80K | 5.5% | 4.9% | 5% | B+ |
| 880 | West Chester PA | 19,591 | $78K | 20.4% | 7.0% | 9% | B+ |
| 881 | Etna Township OH | 20,136 | $103K | 8.9% | 4.5% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Live Oak, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door is work for 57% of Live Oak
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Live Oak workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Oak | – | B+ | B | 21 min | $79,696 |
| San Antonio | 53% | C+ | A | 25 min | $65,056 |
| Universal City | 1% | B | C+ | 26 min | $74,811 |
| Selma | 2% | A− | C | 30 min | $97,066 |
| Converse | 1% | A− | B− | 27 min | $94,222 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to San Antonio. Darker towns draw more of Live Oak’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 Live Oak: questions
What is the median household income in Live Oak?
$79,696 (±$3,503) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Live Oak?
5.5%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Live Oak?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Live Oak work?
5% work in town.
Is Live Oak walkable?
Live Oak is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Live Oak without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Live Oak, from the people who make the trip.
More of Live Oak
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.