Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Overton have lower incomes than those in 85% of U.S. towns
Only 6% work in Overton itself; outside it, Tyler draws the most (15%, 20 miles). 17.0% of residents are in poverty, against 13.8% across Texas. Overton grades C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
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 Overton
Fewer jobs are based in Overton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Overton fell from 1,278 in 2013 to 800 in 2023, −37%. 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
30% 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; with 846 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Overton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Overton is better than 22% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Overton’s grade up (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,279, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Overton could be anywhere from D to A−.
What Overton’s employers do
800 jobs are based in Overton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Overton, 2013 → 2023: 1,278 → 800. 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 Overton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Overton
About 30% 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 Overton
On a workday 792 residents head out to work, 54 work right here, and 746 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 (0.95 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.
Where the trip to work from Overton ends
Where Overton clocks in
15% of workers
10% of workers
10% 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 30 minutes each way for Overton’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Overton workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 924 commuters (the 10% 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.
In Overton, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Overton is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Overton 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 1,026 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). 14.2% of Overton households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Overton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Overton ranks: 3,909th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Southside Place TX | 1,916 | $163K | 5.0% | 5.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Bartonville TX | 1,937 | $149K | 4.3% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,907 | Covington IN | 2,774 | $52K | 15.0% | 4.3% | 17% | C− |
| 3,908 | Bronson MI | 2,316 | $46K | 20.9% | 2.8% | 8% | C− |
| 3,909 | Overton TX | 2,315 | $52K | 17.0% | 6.0% | 6% | C− |
| 3,910 | Pentland Township MI | 2,693 | $69K | 10.5% | 13.7% | 15% | C− |
| 3,911 | Florence WI | 2,193 | $59K | 7.4% | 4.1% | 27% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Overton, 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 Overton: questions
What is the median household income in Overton?
$52,279 (±$37,428) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Overton?
17.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Overton?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Overton work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tyler (15%, 20 mi), Kilgore (10%, 11 mi), Longview (10%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Overton walkable?
Overton is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Overton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Overton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Overton
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.