Rowlett has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs and income earn Rowlett A; getting around on foot earns it B−. Employers in Rowlett report 12,091 jobs, against 32,455 working residents. Household incomes here are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Rowlett
A lot of Rowlett works one town over
38% of working residents work in a town that borders Rowlett: Dallas (28%) and Garland (10%). Next door ↓
Rowlett has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Rowlett went from 8,570 in 2013 to 12,091 in 2023, +41%. The jobs ↓
Rowlett empties out on a workday
About 48,000 people are in Rowlett on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than the 68,000 who live here: 31,000 head out to work and 11,000 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Rowlett
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rowlett is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #97 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rowlett could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The kinds of work in Rowlett
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rowlett, 2013 → 2023: 8,570 → 12,091. 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 Rowlett’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Rowlett
On a workday 30,951 residents head out to work, 1,504 work right here, and 10,587 people come in from elsewhere.
About 48,000 people are in Rowlett on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
28% of working residents work in Dallas
Where Rowlett clocks in
10% 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.
Rowlett’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rowlett workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28,570 commuters (the 18% 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 Rowlett
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.
In Rowlett, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rowlett is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #248 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 35,018 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 21% 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 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 2.4% of Rowlett households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Rowlett’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rowlett places 100th of 645 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 48,000 to 92,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Flower Mound TX | 79,540 | $161K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 15 | Celina TX | 64,427 | $171K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Castle Rock CO | 83,815 | $145K | 3.8% | 4.4% | 16% | A |
| 99 | Bartlett TN | 56,416 | $102K | 5.1% | 3.4% | 10% | A |
| 100 | Rowlett TX | 67,890 | $112K | 6.1% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| 101 | Troy Township IL | 50,168 | $109K | 5.5% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 102 | Bentonville AR | 63,057 | $113K | 5.2% | 3.1% | 43% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 645 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Rowlett, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door is work for 38% of Rowlett
The biggest share goes to Dallas (28%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Rowlett’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 Rowlett: questions
What is the median household income in Rowlett?
$112,081 (±$7,708) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rowlett?
6.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rowlett?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rowlett work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dallas (28%, 15 mi), Garland (10%, 5 mi), Richardson (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rowlett walkable?
Rowlett is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rowlett without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rowlett, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rowlett
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.