Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY 3.0Households in Rockdale earn less than those in 73% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 9.1% of residents (Texas 13.8%). For jobs and income Rockdale is better than 33% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (C+). About one in five stay in Rockdale for work; outside it, Austin is the main destination (12%, 51 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Rockdale
Rockdale’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Rockdale is Austin, 51 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (281) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Rockdale trades workers with the towns around it
Rockdale has about as many jobs (2,128) as working residents (2,360), but they are mostly different people: 1,848 residents leave for work each day while 1,616 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in Rockdale are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Rockdale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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 ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Rockdale: the grade in detail
The poverty rate holds Rockdale’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 23% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockdale could be anywhere from D to B+.
How far Rockdale goes to work
About 34% 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.
Who commutes out of Rockdale, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,848 residents head out to work, 512 work right here, and 1,616 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 (0.90 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.
How long Rockdale spends getting to work: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockdale workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,227 commuters (the 11% 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.
Commuting out of Rockdale: the destinations
Where Rockdale clocks in
12% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
What work there is in Rockdale: 2,128 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockdale, 2014 → 2024: 2,453 → 2,128. 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 Rockdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Rockdale, most people drive to work
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 2,506 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). 6.9% of Rockdale households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rockdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Rockdale is 2,478th among 3,476 U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Garden Ridge TX | 4,371 | $177K | 0.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,476 | East Flat Rock NC | 6,323 | $60K | 12.6% | 5.0% | 7% | C |
| 2,477 | Folcroft PA | 6,780 | $61K | 16.2% | 10.3% | 3% | C |
| 2,478 | Rockdale TX | 5,688 | $61K | 9.1% | 4.3% | 22% | C |
| 2,479 | Mexico NY | 5,357 | $59K | 14.0% | 3.6% | 12% | C |
| 2,480 | German Township PA | 4,483 | $62K | 7.6% | 6.0% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,476 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Rockdale, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
How Rockdale compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockdale | – | C | C+ | 32 min | $60,590 |
| Praesel | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Praesel: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rockdale’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 Rockdale: questions
What is the median household income in Rockdale?
$60,590 (±$18,355) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockdale?
9.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockdale?
32 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockdale work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (12%, 51 mi), Houston (4%, 114 mi), San Antonio (3%, 122 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Rockdale walkable?
Rockdale is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockdale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockdale
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.