Rochester has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
At home: 1% of workers have no commute at all (Texas 14%). 7 jobs are based in Rochester; 68 of its residents have a job. Hardly any stay in Rochester for work; outside it, Abilene is the main destination (16%, 60 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Rochester
On a workday 68 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 7 people come in from elsewhere.
About 190 people are in Rochester on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Rochester to work: where people go
Where Rochester clocks in
16% of workers
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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Rochester
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rochester, 2013 → 2023: 35 → 7. 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 Rochester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Texas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rochester workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 99 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.
How far Rochester’s workers travel
About 60% 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.
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 Rochester: questions
What is the median household income in Rochester?
$31,827 (±$11,307) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rochester?
31.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rochester?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rochester work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Abilene (16%, 60 mi), Haskell (13%, 13 mi), Rule (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rochester without a car?
6% 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 Rochester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rochester
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.