South Mountain has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Hardly any work in South Mountain; the top destination outside it is Gatesville (29%, 4 miles). There are 48 jobs in South Mountain for 129 working residents. 2% of workers have no commute at all, against 14% across Texas.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of South Mountain, and who commutes in
On a workday 129 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.
About 330 people are in South Mountain on a workday afternoon, 20% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from South Mountain ends
Where South Mountain clocks in
29% of workers
7% 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 kinds of work in South Mountain
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Mountain, 2014 → 2024: 16 → 48. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Mountain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From South Mountain, about 26 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Mountain workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 126 commuters (the 2% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from South Mountain
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 South Mountain: questions
What is the median household income in South Mountain?
$57,500 (±$18,732) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Mountain?
6.4%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Mountain?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Mountain work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gatesville (29%, 4 mi), Austin (7%, 79 mi), Temple (5%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around South Mountain without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Mountain, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Mountain
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.