Photo: Roman Eugeniusz · CC BY-SA 3.0Work means El Paso for about two in three of Socorro’s working residents
Only 5% stay in Socorro for work; outside it, El Paso is the main destination (68%, 18 miles). For jobs and income Socorro is better than 33% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (C+). Household incomes here are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Socorro in brief
More than half of Socorro works in El Paso
9,640 working residents, 68%, have their main job in El Paso, 18 miles away across the town line. That’s 14 times as many as work in Socorro itself. The commute map ↓
Fewer than half of Socorro workers earn over $40,000 a year
42% of Socorro’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 16% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Socorro are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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 figures behind Socorro’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Socorro’s grade up (ahead of 81% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Socorro could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Commuting out of Socorro: the destinations
Where Socorro clocks in
68% of workers
3% of workers
1% 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.
What work there is in Socorro: 4,352 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Socorro, 2013 → 2023: 3,337 → 4,352. 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 Socorro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Socorro
On a workday 13,438 residents head out to work, 645 work right here, and 3,707 people come in from elsewhere.
About 29,000 people are in Socorro on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.31 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.
About 27 minutes to work from Socorro
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Socorro workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,747 commuters (the 7% 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.
Miles to work from Socorro
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.
Getting around Socorro: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% 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 15,847 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 48% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 2.9% of Socorro households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Socorro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Socorro next to U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000: 932nd of 1,113 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Coppell TX | 41,386 | $146K | 5.4% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 930 | Marshalltown IA | 27,536 | $69K | 14.3% | 5.3% | 47% | C |
| 931 | West Little River FL | 33,890 | $56K | 17.7% | 6.9% | 2% | C |
| 932 | Socorro TX | 38,787 | $55K | 20.7% | 4.8% | 5% | C |
| 933 | Laplace LA | 28,343 | $69K | 13.1% | 10.1% | 12% | C |
| 934 | Salina KS | 46,094 | $62K | 13.0% | 5.2% | 61% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Socorro, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Bordering towns draw 69% of Socorro’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Socorro workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socorro | – | C | C+ | 27 min | $54,744 |
| El Paso | 68% | C | A− | 23 min | $59,745 |
| San Elizario | 1% | C | B+ | 34 min | $49,977 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to El Paso. Darker towns draw more of Socorro’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 Socorro: questions
What is the median household income in Socorro?
$54,744 (±$5,159) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Socorro?
20.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Socorro?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Socorro work?
5% work in town.
Is Socorro walkable?
Socorro is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Socorro without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Socorro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Socorro
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.