Photo: C jacobson3 · CC BY-SA 4.0Roanoke has higher household incomes than 75% of U.S. towns
Roanoke grades A− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Below the poverty line: 4.5% of residents, next to 13.8% across Texas. 26% of workers work from home; Texas has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Roanoke and work: the main findings
A lot of Roanoke works from home
26% of Roanoke workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Time on the road ↓
Roanoke has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Roanoke went from 4,395 in 2013 to 6,706 in 2023, +53%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
46% of the jobs in Roanoke are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Roanoke’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Roanoke is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #128 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Roanoke’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Roanoke could be anywhere from B to A+.
Commuting from Roanoke: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Roanoke workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,018 commuters (the 26% 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.
The 6,706 jobs based in Roanoke
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Roanoke, 2013 → 2023: 4,395 → 6,706. 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 Roanoke’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Roanoke on a workday afternoon
On a workday 5,118 residents head out to work, 156 work right here, and 6,550 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Roanoke on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 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.
13% of working residents work in Fort Worth
Where Roanoke clocks in
13% 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.
The commute from Roanoke, by distance
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.
The commute in Roanoke is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Roanoke is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #468 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 5,395 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). 5.6% of Roanoke households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Roanoke’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000, Roanoke comes 625th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Lucas TX | 8,896 | $221K | 1.3% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 623 | Lochbuie CO | 8,776 | $97K | 7.7% | 2.3% | 1% | A− |
| 624 | Hampshire IL | 9,266 | $95K | 7.8% | 2.5% | 5% | A− |
| 625 | Roanoke TX | 10,931 | $97K | 4.5% | 5.0% | 3% | A− |
| 626 | Newcastle WA | 13,128 | $160K | 5.9% | 5.6% | 1% | A− |
| 627 | Hull MA | 10,266 | $115K | 5.8% | 4.0% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Roanoke, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Bordering towns draw 20% of Roanoke’s workers
The biggest share goes to Fort Worth (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Roanoke workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke | – | A− | C | 27 min | $97,295 |
| Flower Mound | under 3% | A+ | B− | 26 min | $161,235 |
| Westlake | 7% | A+ | C+ | 26 min | $250,000+ |
| Fort Worth | 13% | B | B+ | 27 min | $79,507 |
| Northlake | under 3% | A | C+ | 32 min | $123,469 |
| Trophy Club | under 3% | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $201,054 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Roanoke’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 Roanoke: questions
What is the median household income in Roanoke?
$97,295 (±$13,570) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Roanoke?
4.5%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Roanoke?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Roanoke work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Worth (13%, 18 mi), Dallas (13%, 31 mi), Irving (7%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Roanoke walkable?
Roanoke is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Roanoke without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Roanoke, from the people who make the trip.
More of Roanoke
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.