Making a living in Paradise
Commuters spend 36 minutes getting to work on average; the Texas average is 27, the U.S. 26. Only 6% work in Paradise; the top destination outside it is Fort Worth (15%, 32 miles). Employers in Paradise report 415 jobs, against 338 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Paradise, in brief
Paradise’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Paradise is Fort Worth, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (50) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Paradise workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical 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; with 338 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far Paradise goes to work
About 15% 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.
Commuting from Paradise: about 36 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Paradise workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 265 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.
Who works in Paradise, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 318 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 395 people come in from elsewhere.
About 880 people are in Paradise on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 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 Paradise’s working residents head each day
Where Paradise clocks in
15% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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 Paradise’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Paradise, 2013 → 2023: 280 → 415. 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 Paradise’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Paradise: questions
What is the median household income in Paradise?
$82,619 (±$22,180) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Paradise?
8.8%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Paradise?
36 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Paradise work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Worth (15%, 32 mi), Decatur (10%, 8 mi), Bridgeport (7%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Paradise without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Paradise, from the people who make the trip.
More of Paradise
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.