Smiley has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
0% of workers work from home; Texas has 14%. Smiley has 21 jobs; 219 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Smiley; the top destination outside it is Gonzales (12%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Smiley stands out on work
Smiley is a place people come home to
There are 21 jobs based in Smiley, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Smiley has about 300 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
45% 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 ↓
Smiley workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 115 more than the state’s typical 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; with 219 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The workday shuffle in and out of Smiley
On a workday 219 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 21 people come in from elsewhere.
About 300 people are in Smiley on a workday afternoon, 40% 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.
Half of Smiley commutes less than 46 miles
About 45% 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.
Smiley’s commute takes about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Smiley workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 222 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.
Where Smiley goes to work
Where Smiley clocks in
12% of workers
11% 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.
57% of the jobs in Smiley make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Smiley, 2013 → 2023: 49 → 21. 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 Smiley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Smiley: questions
What is the median household income in Smiley?
$36,750 (±$19,565) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Smiley?
20.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Smiley?
42 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Smiley work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gonzales (12%, 20 mi), San Antonio (11%, 55 mi), Nixon (9%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Smiley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Smiley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Smiley
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.