Seth Ward has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The two grades for Seth Ward are C− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. 115 jobs are based in Seth Ward, against 657 working residents. Measured by household income, Seth Ward is behind 83% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Seth Ward: the figures worth knowing
Seth Ward and Plainview trade workers both ways
Plainview is the top workplace for Seth Ward residents (37%) and also where the most people who work in Seth Ward come from (43% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Seth Ward is a place people come home to
There are 115 jobs based in Seth Ward, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Seth Ward has about 1,700 people in it, 25% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% 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 ↓
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 657 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Seth Ward
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Seth Ward is better than 17% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Seth Ward’s grade up (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (24.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Seth Ward could be anywhere from D− to B−.
37% of working residents work in Plainview
Where Seth Ward clocks in
37% of workers
9% 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 flow of workers through Seth Ward
On a workday 654 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 112 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Seth Ward on a workday afternoon, 25% 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.
Where in the region Seth Ward works
About 38% 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.
Making and building: 59% of jobs based in Seth Ward
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seth Ward, 2013 → 2023: 157 → 115. 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 Seth Ward’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Seth Ward takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seth Ward workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 965 commuters (the 0% 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.
In Seth Ward, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Seth Ward is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.0% across Texas, on an EPA index of 4.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 965 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). 3.6% of Seth Ward households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Seth Ward’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,641 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 3,000, Seth Ward comes 4,360th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Southside Place TX | 1,916 | $163K | 5.0% | 5.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 26 | Shoreacres TX | 1,535 | $131K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,358 | Henrietta Township MN | 1,595 | $73K | 15.3% | 4.2% | 2% | C− |
| 4,359 | Masury OH | 2,283 | $39K | 21.5% | 7.0% | 2% | C− |
| 4,360 | Seth Ward TX | 2,205 | $54K | 24.7% | 3.8% | <1% | C− |
| 4,361 | Corning IA | 1,511 | $65K | 12.4% | 6.0% | 31% | C− |
| 4,362 | Lake Township MN | 1,995 | $76K | 17.4% | 3.3% | 6% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,641 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Seth Ward, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
37% of Seth Ward works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Plainview. Darker towns draw more of Seth Ward’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 Seth Ward: questions
What is the median household income in Seth Ward?
$53,990 (±$7,497) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seth Ward?
24.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seth Ward?
18 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Seth Ward work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Plainview (37%, 2 mi), Lubbock (15%, 47 mi), Amarillo (9%, 68 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Seth Ward walkable?
Seth Ward is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Seth Ward without a car?
0% 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 Seth Ward, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seth Ward
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.