Photo: Vasiliymeshko · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Odessa (5.9%) is higher than in 73% of U.S. towns
3% of workers work from home (Texas 14%). For jobs and income Odessa is better than 41% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (B−). About two in five stay in Odessa for work; outside it, Midland is the main destination (17%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Odessa
Odessa and Midland trade workers both ways
Midland is the top workplace for Odessa residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Odessa come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Odessa workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Odessa 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.
Where Odessa’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Odessa’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (16.2%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Odessa could be anywhere from C to B−.
The towns that employ Odessa’s residents
Where Odessa clocks in
17% 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.
How long Odessa spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Odessa workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 52,964 commuters (the 3% 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.
How many people are in Odessa by day
On a workday 29,793 residents head out to work, 22,130 work right here, and 30,799 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 (1.02 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.
What work there is in Odessa: 52,929 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Odessa, 2013 → 2023: 50,017 → 52,929. 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 Odessa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Odessa, by distance
About 19% 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.
Most trips from Odessa start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% of 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 54,803 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). 7.0% of Odessa households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Odessa’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
248th of 334: where Odessa ranks among U.S. towns of 86,000 to 166,000
| # | 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% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Allen TX | 113,447 | $131K | 6.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Sugar Land TX | 107,726 | $136K | 5.5% | 4.1% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 246 | Kansas City KS | 157,805 | $62K | 16.0% | 5.8% | 30% | C+ |
| 247 | Elizabeth NJ | 141,675 | $67K | 15.7% | 7.7% | 19% | C+ |
| 248 | Odessa TX | 122,707 | $73K | 16.2% | 5.9% | 43% | C+ |
| 249 | Palm Bay FL | 148,092 | $73K | 11.7% | 6.1% | 19% | C+ |
| 250 | Independence MO | 121,675 | $60K | 15.8% | 5.6% | 16% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Odessa, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Odessa and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Odessa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odessa | – | C+ | B− | 22 min | $73,472 |
| West Odessa | 3% | C | C− | 34 min | $65,234 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to West Odessa. Darker towns draw more of Odessa’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 Odessa: questions
What is the median household income in Odessa?
$73,472 (±$4,154) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Odessa?
16.2%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Odessa?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Odessa work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Midland (17%, 17 mi), West Odessa (3%, 10 mi), Lubbock (2%, 119 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Odessa walkable?
Odessa is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Odessa without a car?
<1% 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 Odessa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Odessa
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.