San Juan has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns. There are 6,053 jobs in San Juan, against 12,814 working residents. San Juan grades C for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
San Juan and work: the main findings
Most San Juan residents work close to home
69% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
San Juan has added jobs fast
Jobs based in San Juan went from 3,866 in 2014 to 6,053 in 2024, +57%. The jobs ↓
San Juan and McAllen trade workers both ways
McAllen is the top workplace for San Juan residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in San Juan come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
San Juan averages 25 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (21 to 22 minutes). Next door ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: San Juan’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, San Juan is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #471 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds San Juan’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (22.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, San Juan could be anywhere from C− to C+.
How far San Juan’s workers travel
About 18% 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.
The kinds of work in San Juan
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Juan, 2014 → 2024: 3,866 → 6,053. 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 San Juan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
23% of working residents work in McAllen
Where San Juan clocks in
23% of workers
21% of workers
11% 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 workday shuffle in and out of San Juan
On a workday 12,183 residents head out to work, 631 work right here, and 5,422 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in San Juan on a workday afternoon, 18% 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 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip from San Juan: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Juan workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,158 commuters (the 6% 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.
San Juan is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, San Juan is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns, #447 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 14,036 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). 3.7% of San Juan households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of San Juan’s commuters take a bus or train.
How San Juan ranks: 977th of 1,096 U.S. towns of 27,000 to 51,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Coppell TX | 41,386 | $146K | 5.4% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 975 | Sanford NC | 34,138 | $58K | 22.0% | 4.4% | 26% | C |
| 976 | Bristol TN | 28,107 | $58K | 13.6% | 6.8% | 26% | C |
| 977 | San Juan TX | 37,868 | $57K | 22.4% | 7.4% | 5% | C |
| 978 | Weslaco TX | 44,203 | $60K | 23.2% | 7.1% | 26% | C− |
| 979 | Dover DE | 40,592 | $60K | 15.0% | 8.0% | 31% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,096 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 San Juan, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
21% of San Juan works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | San Juan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan | – | C | C | 25 min | $56,562 |
| North Alamo | under 2% | B− | D | 22 min | $55,408 |
| Lopezville | under 2% | C− | D | 22 min | $38,207 |
| Pharr | 21% | C− | B− | 21 min | $52,814 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Pharr. Darker towns draw more of San Juan’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 San Juan: questions
What is the median household income in San Juan?
$56,562 (±$4,030) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Juan?
22.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Juan?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Juan work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McAllen (23%, 6 mi), Pharr (21%, 3 mi), Edinburg (11%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is San Juan walkable?
San Juan is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Juan without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Juan, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Juan
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.