More people are out of work in McGregor (7.4%) than in 85% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 21 minutes on average, next to 27 for Texas and 26 for the U.S. McGregor grades C for jobs and income and C for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 54% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
McGregor and work: the main findings
Jobs in McGregor have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in McGregor went from 1,285 in 2013 to 2,711 in 2023, +111%. The jobs ↓
McGregor trades workers with the towns around it
McGregor has about as many jobs (2,711) as working residents (2,468), but they are mostly different people: 2,241 residents leave for work each day while 2,484 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in McGregor are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
McGregor and Waco trade workers both ways
Waco is the top workplace for McGregor residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in McGregor come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from McGregor 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. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% 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 ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: McGregor’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, McGregor is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #406 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds McGregor’s grade up (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, McGregor could be anywhere from D to A.
What the 2,711 jobs in McGregor are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McGregor, 2013 → 2023: 1,285 → 2,711. 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 McGregor’s own residents hold wherever they work.
McGregor by day and by night
On a workday 2,241 residents head out to work, 227 work right here, and 2,484 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.
35% of working residents work in Waco
Where McGregor clocks in
4% 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.
Time on the road from McGregor: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McGregor workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,254 commuters (the 14% 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.
Miles to work from McGregor
About 32% 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.
In McGregor, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, McGregor is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #491 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 2,613 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). 8.3% of McGregor households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of McGregor’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,600, McGregor ranks 2,345th of 3,255 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,343 | Lyons NY | 5,555 | $75K | 14.3% | 5.2% | 15% | C |
| 2,344 | Sheridan CO | 5,972 | $61K | 14.0% | 14.5% | 3% | C |
| 2,345 | McGregor TX | 6,405 | $73K | 12.8% | 7.4% | 9% | C |
| 2,346 | Fort Myers Shores FL | 5,946 | $73K | 15.7% | 5.9% | 3% | C |
| 2,347 | McCook NE | 7,157 | $57K | 17.3% | 1.4% | 58% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,255 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 McGregor, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
35% of McGregor works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Waco. Darker towns draw more of McGregor’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 McGregor: questions
What is the median household income in McGregor?
$72,750 (±$25,191) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McGregor?
12.8%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McGregor?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McGregor work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waco (35%, 17 mi), Temple (4%, 22 mi), Austin (4%, 80 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is McGregor walkable?
McGregor is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McGregor 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 McGregor, from the people who make the trip.
More of McGregor
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.