Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Llano have lower incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Llano; the top destination outside it is Austin (9%, 63 miles). 14.8% of residents live below the poverty line; Texas has 13.8%. Jobs and income earn Llano D; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Llano
Llano’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Llano is Austin, 63 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (139) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
42% 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 ↓
Commutes from Llano 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 ↓
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.
How Llano earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Llano’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($48,309, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Llano could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Miles to work from Llano
About 42% 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.
Commuting from Llano: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Llano workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,520 commuters (the 10% 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.
Who commutes out of Llano, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,054 residents head out to work, 509 work right here, and 1,206 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 (1.10 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.
Commuting out of Llano: the destinations
Where Llano clocks in
9% 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.
Inside Llano’s 1,715 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Llano, 2013 → 2023: 1,473 → 1,715. 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 Llano’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Llano, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Llano is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #25 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Llano 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 1,687 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). 4.2% of Llano households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Llano’s commuters take a bus or train.
Llano next to U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,983 | East Tawas MI | 2,662 | $42K | 15.7% | 5.2% | 9% | D |
| 3,984 | Ruidoso Downs NM | 2,588 | $31K | 40.5% | 3.4% | 12% | D |
| 3,985 | Llano TX | 3,587 | $48K | 14.8% | 6.1% | 33% | D |
| 3,986 | Ladonia AL | 3,346 | $53K | 16.0% | 10.7% | 2% | D |
| 3,987 | Piney AR | 4,458 | $51K | 28.5% | 9.2% | 7% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | 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 Llano, 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 Llano: questions
What is the median household income in Llano?
$48,309 (±$9,002) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Llano?
14.8%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Llano?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Llano work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (9%, 63 mi), Marble Falls (4%, 27 mi), Fredericksburg (3%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Llano walkable?
Llano is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Llano without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Llano, from the people who make the trip.
More of Llano
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.