Photo: Billy Hathorn at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0New Braunfels’ household incomes are higher than in 63% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in New Braunfels; the top destination outside it is San Antonio (22%, 30 miles). The poverty rate is 7.4%, next to 13.8% for Texas as a whole. For jobs and income New Braunfels is better than 73% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in New Braunfels
New Braunfels trades workers with the towns around it
New Braunfels has about as many jobs (44,609) as working residents (45,374), but they are mostly different people: 33,466 residents leave for work each day while 32,701 people come in. Only 27% of the jobs in New Braunfels are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
New Braunfels’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside New Braunfels is San Antonio, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (9,761) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
New Braunfels has added jobs fast
Jobs based in New Braunfels went from 29,438 in 2014 to 44,609 in 2024, +52%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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.
Inside New Braunfels’ Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Braunfels could be anywhere from B to A−.
New Braunfels on a workday afternoon
On a workday 33,466 residents head out to work, 11,908 work right here, and 32,701 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 (0.98 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from New Braunfels
About 20% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Jobs in New Braunfels: what the 44,609 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Braunfels, 2014 → 2024: 29,438 → 44,609. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs New Braunfels’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of New Braunfels to work: where people go
Where New Braunfels clocks in
22% of workers
8% of workers
5% 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.
Getting to work from New Braunfels takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Braunfels workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 45,187 commuters (the 16% 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.
Getting around New Braunfels: mostly by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 53,529 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). 2.6% of New Braunfels households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of New Braunfels’ commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Out of 334 U.S. towns of 86,000 to 165,000, New Braunfels comes 106th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Allen TX | 113,447 | $131K | 6.1% | 3.7% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Sugar Land TX | 107,726 | $136K | 5.5% | 4.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Niles Township IL | 109,978 | $97K | 8.9% | 5.4% | 15% | B+ |
| 105 | Corona CA | 161,734 | $109K | 8.7% | 5.5% | 15% | B+ |
| 106 | New Braunfels TX | 122,492 | $86K | 7.4% | 4.2% | 26% | B+ |
| 107 | Hillsboro OR | 111,126 | $106K | 8.5% | 4.8% | 33% | B+ |
| 108 | Concord CA | 123,261 | $109K | 8.2% | 5.4% | 14% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 52% | 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 Braunfels, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
New Braunfels and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Schertz (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Braunfels workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Braunfels | – | B+ | B− | 27 min | $86,021 |
| Schertz | 2% | A− | C | 32 min | $99,948 |
| Lake Dunlap | under 1% | B | D− | 31 min | $78,641 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of New Braunfels’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 2024, 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 Braunfels: questions
What is the median household income in New Braunfels?
$86,021 (±$5,404) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Braunfels?
7.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Braunfels?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Braunfels work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Antonio (22%, 30 mi), Austin (8%, 47 mi), San Marcos (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is New Braunfels walkable?
New Braunfels is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Braunfels without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Braunfels, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Braunfels
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.