Most of Sonterra commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Sonterra has 435 jobs; 5,551 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Sonterra are B for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 2% work in Sonterra itself; outside it, Austin draws the most (30%, 36 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sonterra, in a few figures
The better-paid jobs are outside Sonterra
68% of Sonterra residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 25% of the jobs based in Sonterra pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Sonterra is a place people come home to
There are 435 jobs based in Sonterra, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sonterra has about 5,400 people in it, 48% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Sonterra workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
30% of Sonterra works in Austin
1,661 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Austin, 37 miles away. That’s 15 times as many as work in Sonterra itself. The commute map ↓
Many jobs in Sonterra pay little
26% of the jobs based in Sonterra pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 39% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Inside Sonterra’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sonterra is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #224 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Sonterra’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sonterra could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The kinds of work in Sonterra
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sonterra, 2013 → 2023: 166 → 435. 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 Sonterra’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Sonterra
On a workday 5,465 residents head out to work, 86 work right here, and 349 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,400 people are in Sonterra on a workday afternoon, 48% 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.
About 34 minutes each way, longer than most of Texas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sonterra workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,191 commuters (the 8% 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.
The towns that employ Sonterra’s residents
Where Sonterra clocks in
30% of workers
11% of workers
11% 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.
How far Sonterra goes to work
About 17% 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.
Getting around Sonterra: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sonterra is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #355 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Sonterra near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,657 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). 2.8% of Sonterra households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sonterra’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Sonterra is 1,309th among 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Lucas TX | 8,896 | $221K | 1.3% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,307 | Kittery ME | 11,420 | $94K | 6.4% | 5.4% | 20% | B |
| 1,308 | Jackson Township PA | 9,301 | $89K | 4.5% | 7.2% | 6% | B |
| 1,309 | Sonterra TX | 10,563 | $92K | 10.4% | 4.5% | 2% | B |
| 1,310 | Boone IA | 12,471 | $69K | 8.3% | 2.0% | 25% | B |
| 1,311 | Clover SC | 7,659 | $85K | 8.3% | 4.8% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Sonterra, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
The towns around Sonterra
The biggest share goes to Jarrell (5%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Sonterra’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 Sonterra: questions
What is the median household income in Sonterra?
$92,319 (±$12,333) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sonterra?
10.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sonterra?
34 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sonterra work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (30%, 36 mi), Round Rock (11%, 20 mi), Georgetown (11%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sonterra walkable?
Sonterra is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sonterra without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sonterra, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sonterra
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.