Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Richmond are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns
For 5% of workers, the job is at home (Texas 14%). 15.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.8% across Texas. The two grades for Richmond are C for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Richmond
37% of Richmond works in Houston
1,821 working residents, 37%, have their main job in Houston, 26 miles away. That’s 12 times as many as work in Richmond itself. The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Richmond is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 6% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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.
Richmond’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Richmond is better than 31% of U.S. towns, #417 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Richmond’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($50,337, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Richmond could be anywhere from C− to B+.
37% of working residents work in Houston
Where Richmond clocks in
37% 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.
Richmond is a services town
3,380 jobs are based in Richmond.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Richmond, 2013 → 2023: 2,754 → 3,380. 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 Richmond’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Richmond on a workday
On a workday 4,718 residents head out to work, 148 work right here, and 3,232 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Richmond on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.69 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.
A commute of about 29 minutes in Richmond
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Richmond workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,189 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.
Miles to work from Richmond
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.
Most trips from Richmond start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Richmond is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns, #423 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% 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 5,467 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 5.0% of Richmond households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Richmond’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Richmond ranks: 1,949th of 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,947 | Gardere LA | 12,223 | $55K | 35.3% | 4.9% | 1% | C |
| 1,948 | Shively KY | 15,895 | $50K | 14.7% | 6.9% | 3% | C |
| 1,949 | Richmond TX | 13,389 | $50K | 15.7% | 7.0% | 3% | C |
| 1,950 | Camp Pendleton South CA | 15,766 | $70K | 6.6% | 13.2% | 1% | C |
| 1,951 | Girard OH | 9,384 | $53K | 20.0% | 4.9% | 7% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | 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 Richmond, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
The towns next door employ 20% of Richmond
The biggest share goes to Rosenberg (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Richmond workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | – | C | C | 29 min | $50,337 |
| Pecan Grove | under 1% | A | C− | 36 min | $131,937 |
| Rosenberg | 12% | C+ | B− | 30 min | $65,668 |
| Sugar Land | 8% | A | B | 29 min | $136,217 |
| Cumings | under 1% | A− | C | 36 min | $136,147 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Richmond’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 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 Richmond: questions
What is the median household income in Richmond?
$50,337 (±$20,759) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Richmond?
15.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Richmond?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Richmond work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (37%, 26 mi), Rosenberg (12%, 4 mi), Sugar Land (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Richmond walkable?
Richmond is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Richmond without a car?
0% 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 Richmond, from the people who make the trip.
More of Richmond
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.