Sebastian ranks among the lowest-earning U.S. towns by household income
For jobs and income Sebastian is better than 11% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns (D−). Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. Below the poverty line: 38.0% of residents (Texas 13.8%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Sebastian at work: what stands out
Sebastian is a place people come home to
There are 19 jobs based in Sebastian, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sebastian has about 610 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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 ↓
A lot of Sebastian works from home
26% of Sebastian workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. 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 426 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Sebastian’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Job access by car holds Sebastian’s grade up (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($22,786, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (12.6%) is left out: Sebastian’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Sebastian could be anywhere from D to C−.
Who works in Sebastian, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 425 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 18 people come in from elsewhere.
About 610 people are in Sebastian on a workday afternoon, 40% fewer than live here.
0.04 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.
How many miles Sebastian commutes
About 35% 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 24 minutes in Sebastian
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sebastian workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 286 commuters (the 26% 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.
18% of working residents work in Harlingen
Where Sebastian clocks in
18% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Jobs in Sebastian: what the 19 are
19 jobs are based in Sebastian.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sebastian, 2013 → 2023: 31 → 19. 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 Sebastian’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Sebastian: mostly by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 388 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). 0.0% of Sebastian households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sebastian’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,496th of 3,133: where Sebastian ranks among U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Seis Lagos TX | 1,391 | $249K | 1.2% | 4.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Weston TX | 1,140 | $144K | 2.8% | 0.7% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Randolph AFB TX | 1,240 | $113K | 2.8% | 3.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,494 | Pleasanton KS | 1,186 | $50K | 11.0% | 6.9% | 7% | D |
| 2,495 | La Grulla TX | 1,234 | $37K | 19.2% | 9.0% | 0% | D |
| 2,496 | Sebastian TX | 1,021 | $23K | 38.0% | 12.6% | <1% | D |
| 2,497 | Raven VA | 1,345 | $53K | 12.8% | 9.6% | 2% | D |
| 2,498 | Camargo KY | 1,051 | $48K | 26.7% | 7.0% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Sebastian, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door to Sebastian
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sebastian workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian | – | D | D− | 24 min | $22,786 |
| Yznaga | under 4% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Yznaga: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sebastian’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 Sebastian: questions
What is the median household income in Sebastian?
$22,786 (±$8,155) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sebastian?
38.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sebastian?
24 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sebastian work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harlingen (18%, 12 mi), Raymondville (7%, 9 mi), Brownsville (6%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sebastian walkable?
Sebastian is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sebastian without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sebastian, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sebastian
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.