Photo: Charles Henry · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Pampa trail those of 79% of U.S. towns
17.2% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.8% across Texas. The two grades for Pampa are D for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. 5% of workers have no commute at all (Texas 14%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Pampa, in brief
Most jobs in Pampa go to people who live here
Of the 4,172 jobs based in Pampa, 59% are held by Pampa residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Pampa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pampa is Amarillo, 54 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (1,008) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Pampa are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
36% 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.
Where Pampa’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pampa is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #575 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Pampa’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pampa could be anywhere from D to C.
The daily flow of workers through Pampa
On a workday 4,646 residents head out to work, 2,448 work right here, and 1,724 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Pampa on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
How many miles Pampa commutes
About 36% 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.
About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of Texas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pampa workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,283 commuters (the 5% 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.
14% of working residents work in Amarillo
Where Pampa clocks in
14% 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.
What the 4,172 jobs in Pampa are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pampa, 2013 → 2023: 4,770 → 4,172. 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 Pampa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Pampa gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pampa is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #376 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 7,631 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). 4.5% of Pampa households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pampa’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Pampa sits among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 4 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,089 | Cumberland MD | 18,799 | $48K | 25.1% | 6.3% | 35% | D |
| 2,090 | West Plains MO | 12,780 | $44K | 28.1% | 4.2% | 53% | D |
| 2,091 | Pampa TX | 16,414 | $57K | 17.2% | 6.1% | 35% | D |
| 2,092 | Fort Mohave AZ | 15,715 | $65K | 11.8% | 9.7% | 13% | D |
| 2,093 | Moss Point MS | 11,743 | $44K | 20.0% | 12.0% | 11% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Pampa, 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 Pampa: questions
What is the median household income in Pampa?
$56,626 (±$6,957) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pampa?
17.2%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pampa?
17 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pampa work?
35% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Amarillo (14%, 54 mi), Borger (3%, 26 mi), Lubbock (2%, 147 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pampa walkable?
Pampa is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pampa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pampa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pampa
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.