Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainPort Arthur has lower household incomes than 92% of U.S. towns
29.0% of residents live below the poverty line (Texas 13.8%). The two grades for Port Arthur are D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 1% of workers, against 14% across Texas.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Port Arthur apart
Port Arthur trades workers with the towns around it
Port Arthur has about as many jobs (21,015) as working residents (18,470), but they are mostly different people: 13,907 residents leave for work each day while 16,452 people come in. Only 22% of the jobs in Port Arthur are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Port Arthur workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% 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 ↓
Port Arthur makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Port Arthur are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Port Arthur residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 29%. 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.
The four measures behind Port Arthur’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Port Arthur is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #573 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Port Arthur’s grade up (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Port Arthur could be anywhere from D to C−.
A workday in Port Arthur: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 13,907 residents head out to work, 4,563 work right here, and 16,452 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 (1.14 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.
The trip to work from Port Arthur: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Port Arthur workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 19,820 commuters (the 1% 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.
Miles to work from Port Arthur
About 38% 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.
Goods, not services: 37% of the jobs in Port Arthur
21,015 jobs are based in Port Arthur.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Port Arthur, 2014 → 2024: 18,293 → 21,015. 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 Port Arthur’s own residents hold wherever they work.
14% of working residents work in Beaumont
Where Port Arthur clocks in
14% of workers
11% 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.
The commute in Port Arthur is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Port Arthur is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #275 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 20,026 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). 10.9% of Port Arthur households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Port Arthur’s commuters take a bus or train.
Port Arthur and other U.S. towns of 39,000 to 75,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| 4 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Coppell TX | 41,386 | $146K | 5.4% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 768 | Huntington WV | 44,815 | $45K | 25.7% | 6.8% | 45% | D |
| 769 | Terre Haute IN | 58,764 | $43K | 24.7% | 6.9% | 47% | D |
| 770 | Port Arthur TX | 55,804 | $46K | 29.0% | 8.4% | 25% | D |
| 771 | Los Banos CA | 49,614 | $68K | 17.4% | 8.9% | 22% | D |
| 772 | Decatur Township IL | 45,203 | $49K | 24.2% | 9.9% | 43% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 786 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Port Arthur, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Work in the towns next to Port Arthur
The biggest share goes to Nederland (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Port Arthur workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Arthur | – | D | B− | 23 min | $46,354 |
| Port Neches | 2% | C+ | B+ | 18 min | $81,637 |
| Groves | 3% | B | C | 21 min | $73,710 |
| Nederland | 4% | B | B+ | 19 min | $77,570 |
| Beauxart Gardens | under 2% | — | D− | 15 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Port Arthur’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 Port Arthur: questions
What is the median household income in Port Arthur?
$46,354 (±$3,945) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Port Arthur?
29.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Port Arthur?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Port Arthur work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beaumont (14%, 20 mi), Houston (11%, 90 mi), Nederland (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Port Arthur walkable?
Port Arthur is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Port Arthur without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Port Arthur, from the people who make the trip.
More of Port Arthur
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.