Photo: Stedil · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Roman Forest have higher incomes than those in 93% of U.S. towns
For 5% of workers, the job is at home, against 14% across Texas. 3.0% of residents are in poverty; Texas has 13.8%. Jobs and income earn Roman Forest A; getting around on foot earns it C−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Roman Forest apart on work
Roman Forest is a place people come home to
There are 90 jobs based in Roman Forest, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Roman Forest has about 1,500 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
40% of Roman Forest works in Houston
382 working residents, 40%, have their main job in Houston, 31 miles away. That’s far more as work in Roman Forest itself. The commute map ↓
Roman Forest workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 962 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Roman Forest’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Roman Forest is better than 94% of U.S. towns. Household income is its strongest input ($138,750, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Roman Forest could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Roman Forest
On a workday 960 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 88 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Roman Forest on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.09 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.
40% of working residents work in Houston
Where Roman Forest clocks in
40% of workers
3% 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.
About 38 minutes to work from Roman Forest
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Roman Forest workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,177 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.
Inside Roman Forest’s 90 jobs
90 jobs are based in Roman Forest.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Roman Forest, 2013 → 2023: 55 → 90. 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 Roman Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Roman Forest
About 15% 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.
Driving is how Roman Forest gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Roman Forest is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Roman Forest near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,238 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). 1.2% of Roman Forest households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Roman Forest’s commuters take a bus or train.
Roman Forest places 225th of 5,552 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Southside Place TX | 1,916 | $163K | 5.0% | 5.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 223 | Maple Plain MN | 1,653 | $94K | 3.7% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| 224 | Chester Heights PA | 3,183 | $104K | 5.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A |
| 225 | Roman Forest TX | 2,347 | $139K | 3.0% | 3.3% | <1% | A |
| 226 | Jefferson Township PA | 2,425 | $116K | 1.2% | 2.2% | 2% | A |
| 227 | Granger IA | 2,179 | $112K | 3.4% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,552 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Roman Forest, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door to Roman Forest
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Roman Forest workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Forest | – | A | C− | 38 min | $138,750 |
| Woodbranch | under 1% | B− | C− | 38 min | $85,500 |
| Patton Village | under 1% | B− | D | 35 min | $77,669 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Roman Forest’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 Roman Forest: questions
What is the median household income in Roman Forest?
$138,750 (±$26,750) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Roman Forest?
3.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Roman Forest?
38 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Roman Forest work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (40%, 31 mi), The Woodlands (3%, 21 mi), Conroe (3%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Roman Forest walkable?
Roman Forest is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Roman Forest without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Roman Forest, from the people who make the trip.
More of Roman Forest
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.