Medina ranks among the lowest-earning U.S. towns by household income
The poverty rate is 53.8%, against 13.8% across Texas. Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. Medina grades D− for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Medina
Medina’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Medina is Laredo, 45 miles away as the crow flies. 27% of working residents (354) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Medina is a place people come home to
There are 160 jobs based in Medina, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Medina has about 3,100 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Medina workers earn over $40,000 a year
35% of Medina’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 26% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
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 Medina are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 38 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.
Jobs & income in Medina: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Medina is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #642 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Medina’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Medina could be anywhere from D− to D.
How far Medina’s workers travel
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.
Medina on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,286 residents head out to work, 47 work right here, and 113 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Medina on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.12 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 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Medina
160 jobs are based in Medina.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Medina, 2013 → 2023: 28 → 160. 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 Medina’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Medina
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Medina workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,574 commuters (the 6% 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.
27% of working residents work in Laredo
Where Medina clocks in
27% of workers
12% 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.
In Medina, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Medina is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns, #436 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Medina 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 1,676 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). 2.4% of Medina households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Medina’s commuters take a bus or train.
Medina and other U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 5 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,957 | Hawaiian Beaches HI | 3,947 | $29K | 40.4% | 8.8% | 4% | D− |
| 3,958 | Tiptonville TN | 3,333 | $23K | 38.4% | 7.0% | 22% | D− |
| 3,959 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | D− |
| 3,960 | Lake Providence LA | 3,147 | $28K | 39.2% | 15.5% | 20% | D− |
| 3,961 | North Browning MT | 3,144 | $37K | 43.3% | 17.0% | 11% | D− |
| 3,962 | 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 Medina, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
12% of Medina works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Zapata. Darker towns draw more of Medina’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 Medina: questions
What is the median household income in Medina?
$21,506 (±$10,538) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Medina?
53.8%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Medina?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Medina work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Laredo (27%, 45 mi), Zapata (12%, 2 mi), Falcon Lake Estates (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Medina walkable?
Medina is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Medina 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 Medina, from the people who make the trip.
More of Medina
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.