Unemployment in Portland (3.2%) is lower than in 66% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 21 minutes getting to work on average; the Texas average is 27, the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Portland is better than 70% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (B+). Measured by household income, Portland is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Portland stands out on work
Portland and Corpus Christi trade workers both ways
Corpus Christi is the top workplace for Portland residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in Portland come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Portland has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Portland went from 3,391 in 2014 to 5,048 in 2024, +49%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Portland are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 46 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Portland
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (9.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Portland could be anywhere from B− to A.
35% of working residents work in Corpus Christi
Where Portland clocks in
35% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Portland: what the 5,048 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Portland, 2014 → 2024: 3,391 → 5,048. 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 Portland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 21 minutes each way for Portland’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Portland workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,491 commuters (the 9% 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.
Portland quiets down on a workday
On a workday 7,078 residents head out to work, 1,193 work right here, and 3,855 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Portland on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.61 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 2024, primary jobs.
The distance from Portland to work
About 26% 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.
For most of Portland, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 9,340 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 23% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.8% of Portland households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Portland’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Portland ranks: 794th of 1,705 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Colleyville TX | 25,727 | $218K | 2.5% | 3.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Corinth TX | 25,297 | $121K | 3.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 792 | American Canyon CA | 22,773 | $122K | 9.3% | 5.6% | 6% | B+ |
| 793 | Suwanee GA | 23,034 | $103K | 10.1% | 5.2% | 6% | B+ |
| 794 | Portland TX | 20,833 | $84K | 9.0% | 3.2% | 14% | B+ |
| 795 | Cedar Lake IN | 16,789 | $83K | 3.5% | 5.5% | 6% | B+ |
| 796 | Stafford TX | 18,043 | $87K | 8.0% | 5.8% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Portland, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
The towns next door employ 35% of Portland
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Portland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | – | B+ | B+ | 21 min | $83,865 |
| Corpus Christi | 35% | C+ | A− | 21 min | $67,394 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Corpus Christi. Darker towns draw more of Portland’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 Portland: questions
What is the median household income in Portland?
$83,865 (±$7,609) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Portland?
9.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Portland?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Portland work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Corpus Christi (35%, 13 mi), Ingleside (4%, 8 mi), Houston (4%, 176 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Portland walkable?
Portland is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Portland without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Portland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Portland
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.