Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0San Saba has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Household incomes here are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns. 729 jobs are based in San Saba for 1,426 working residents. Jobs and income earn San Saba D; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in San Saba: the figures worth knowing
San Saba’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside San Saba is Austin, 85 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (117) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
49% 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 ↓
Commutes from San Saba are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas 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.
The four measures behind San Saba’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, San Saba is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #569 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds San Saba’s grade up (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, San Saba could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Short hops and long hauls from San Saba
About 49% 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.
A commute of about 22 minutes in San Saba
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Saba workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,082 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.
San Saba on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,103 residents head out to work, 323 work right here, and 406 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in San Saba on a workday afternoon, 22% 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.
8% of working residents work in Austin
Where San Saba clocks in
8% 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.
The kinds of work in San Saba
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Saba, 2013 → 2023: 833 → 729. 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 San Saba’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In San Saba, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, San Saba is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns, #182 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 1,138 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). 3.1% of San Saba households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of San Saba’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, San Saba is 3,924th of 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,922 | Holyoke CO | 2,264 | $52K | 18.0% | 3.9% | 33% | D |
| 3,923 | Ridgway PA | 3,893 | $53K | 13.0% | 6.7% | 21% | D |
| 3,924 | San Saba TX | 3,126 | $50K | 15.2% | 4.3% | 23% | D |
| 3,925 | Newfield Township MI | 2,382 | $62K | 14.5% | 2.6% | 2% | D |
| 3,926 | Hardinsburg KY | 2,513 | $56K | 18.2% | 5.5% | 25% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Saba, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
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 San Saba: questions
What is the median household income in San Saba?
$50,373 (±$4,835) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Saba?
15.2%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Saba?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Saba work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (8%, 84 mi), San Antonio (3%, 120 mi), Brownwood (3%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is San Saba walkable?
San Saba is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Saba without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Saba, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Saba
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.