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Jobs & commute in Matador

Matador has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

Commuters spend 14 minutes getting to work on average, where Texas has 27 and the U.S. 26. Matador has 70 jobs, and 232 of its residents work somewhere. About one in ten work in Matador; the top destination outside it is Lubbock (14%, 69 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

Matador at work: what stands out

A big share show a job far from home

64% 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 ↓

Matador’s biggest commute is a long one

The top workplace outside Matador is Lubbock, 69 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (33) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓

Commutes from Matador are quick

The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 100 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; with 232 working residents, small shifts move the shares.

★ What stands out · How far

How far it is to work from Matador

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miLubbock: 14% · 68.8 miRoaring Springs: 6% · 8.3 miAmarillo: 5% · 100 miLockney: 3% · 36.3 miFriona: 2% · 116.8 miPlainview: 2% · 53 miMidland: 2% · 156.6 miSnyder: 2% · 90.1 miJayton: 1% · 54.7 miLubbock 14%Roaring Springs 6%Amarillo 5%Lockney 3%Friona 2%Matador
MatadorTop destinations (size = commuters)
26%Under 10 mi61 residents
2%10–24 mi4 residents
8%25–50 mi18 residents
64%Over 50 mi148 residents

About 64% 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.

Time on the road

How long Matador spends getting to work: about 14 minutes

A year of commuting
110 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Matador14 min
Texas27 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
9%

of Matador workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Matador gets to work
77%Drive alone
14%Carpool
9%Walk

Share of the 362 commuters (the 9% 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.

Day and night

The workday shuffle in and out of Matador

On a workday 205 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 43 people come in from elsewhere.

205live here, work elsewhere
27live and work here
43work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night560
Workday390
560live here− 210head out to work+ 43come in to work= 390on a workday

About 390 people are in Matador on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.30jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Where the trip to work from Matador ends

Sugar HillEstellineRoaring Springs: 13 residents work here (6%)WellingtonMatadorFriona: 5 residents work here (2%)Lockney: 8 residents work here (3%)PaducahJayton: 3 residents work here (1%)FloydadaDimmittPostSnyder: 4 residents work here (2%)Plainview: 5 residents work here (2%)Midland: 5 residents work here (2%)Amarillo: 12 residents work here (5%)Lubbock: 33 residents work here (14%)LubbockRoaring SpringsAmarilloLockneyFrionaPlainviewMatador
1
Lubbock68.8 mi away
14%33
2
Matador (in town)right here
12%27
3
Roaring Springs8.3 mi away
6%13
4
Amarillo100 mi away
5%12
5
Lockney36.3 mi away
3%8
6
Friona116.8 mi away
2%5
7
Plainview53 mi away
2%5
8
Midland156.6 mi away
2%5
9
Snyder90.1 mi away
2%4
10
Jayton54.7 mi away
1%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
50%117
The top trips

Where Matador clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Jobs in Matador: what the 70 are

Jobs based in MatadorJobs Matador residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms1%17%
Trade, transport & utilities47%28%
Services: health, schools, offices51%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less44%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month39%37%
Over $3,333 a month17%48%

Who does it

29 or younger27%24%
30 to 5441%49%
55 and older31%27%
−33%

Jobs based in Matador, 2013 → 2023: 104 → 70. 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 Matador’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Matador: questions

What is the median household income in Matador?

$69,500 (±$11,602) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Matador?

15.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Matador?

14 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Matador work?

12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lubbock (14%, 69 mi), Roaring Springs (6%, 8 mi), Amarillo (5%, 100 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Matador without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Matador, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Matador

Matador home →

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.