Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0For about half of its working residents, Selma is a commute to San Antonio
Only 2% stay in Selma for work; outside it, San Antonio is the main destination (48%, 15 miles). Selma grades A− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 74% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Selma: the gist
Selma has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Selma went from 3,950 in 2013 to 7,544 in 2023, +91%. The jobs ↓
Selma is where the jobs are
Selma has 7,544 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
47% of the jobs in Selma are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The biggest group of Selma’s workers comes from San Antonio
2,440 of the people who work in Selma live in San Antonio, 15 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Selma
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Selma is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #150 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Selma’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Selma could be anywhere from B to A+.
Jobs in Selma: what the 7,544 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Selma, 2013 → 2023: 3,950 → 7,544. 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 Selma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Selma
On a workday 4,702 residents head out to work, 105 work right here, and 7,439 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Selma on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where the people who work in Selma live
Where Selma clocks in
48% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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 daily trip from Selma: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Selma workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,728 commuters (the 20% 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.
Where in the region Selma works
About 22% 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 Selma gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Selma is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns, #486 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 5,924 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.0% of Selma households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Selma’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Selma ranks: 826th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Lucas TX | 8,896 | $221K | 1.3% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 824 | California MD | 13,136 | $120K | 6.9% | 2.1% | 15% | A− |
| 825 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| 826 | Selma TX | 11,955 | $97K | 6.2% | 4.8% | 2% | A− |
| 827 | Channahon Township IL | 11,065 | $136K | 6.6% | 5.1% | 7% | A− |
| 828 | Wayne Township IN | 11,641 | $94K | 6.3% | 3.8% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Selma, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Selma and its neighbors: 59% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Selma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selma | – | A− | C | 30 min | $97,066 |
| Universal City | 1% | B | C+ | 26 min | $74,811 |
| Schertz | 5% | A− | C | 32 min | $99,948 |
| Live Oak | 5% | B+ | B | 21 min | $79,696 |
| San Antonio | 48% | C+ | A | 25 min | $65,056 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to San Antonio. Darker towns draw more of Selma’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 Selma: questions
What is the median household income in Selma?
$97,066 (±$8,542) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Selma?
6.2%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Selma?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Selma work?
2% work in town.
Is Selma walkable?
Selma is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Selma without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Selma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Selma
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.