Unemployment in New Boston (10.6%) is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in New Boston; the top destination outside it is Texarkana (19%, 19 miles). For jobs and income New Boston is better than 13% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (C+). The average commute takes 24 minutes each way; Texas averages 27, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in New Boston, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in New Boston than ten years ago
Jobs counted in New Boston fell from 3,404 in 2013 to 1,920 in 2023, −44%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in New Boston
Job access by car holds New Boston’s grade up (ahead of 37% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Boston could be anywhere from D to B−.
Jobs in New Boston: what the 1,920 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Boston, 2013 → 2023: 3,404 → 1,920. 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 New Boston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region New Boston works
About 34% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of New Boston
On a workday 1,257 residents head out to work, 235 work right here, and 1,685 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 (1.29 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.
Out of New Boston to work: where people go
Where New Boston clocks in
19% 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.
About 24 minutes each way for New Boston’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Boston workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,745 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.
Driving is how New Boston gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,917 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). 6.7% of New Boston households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of New Boston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200, New Boston ranks 3,478th of 3,938 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 7 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,476 | Southern Shops SC | 3,797 | $38K | 43.3% | 8.0% | 7% | D |
| 3,477 | South Tucson AZ | 4,452 | $34K | 30.4% | 10.6% | 3% | D |
| 3,478 | New Boston TX | 4,560 | $64K | 18.5% | 10.6% | 16% | D |
| 3,479 | Pana IL | 5,010 | $46K | 13.3% | 6.4% | 21% | D |
| 3,480 | Hampton IA | 4,264 | $47K | 18.1% | 4.8% | 34% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | 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 New Boston, 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 New Boston: questions
What is the median household income in New Boston?
$63,937 (±$18,193) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Boston?
18.5%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Boston?
24 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Boston work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Texarkana (19%, 19 mi), Texarkana (4%, 25 mi), Longview (3%, 68 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Boston walkable?
New Boston is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Boston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Boston, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Boston
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.