For more than half of its working residents, Stafford is a commute to Houston
Stafford grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Only 6% work in Stafford; the top destination outside it is Houston (54%, 16 miles). The average commute takes 26 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Stafford stands out on work
More than half of Stafford works in Houston
4,401 working residents, 54%, have their main job in Houston, 16 miles away. That’s 9 times as many as work in Stafford itself. The commute map ↓
Stafford has far more jobs than workers
Stafford has 25,004 jobs, 3.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 35,000 people are in town, 93% more than the 18,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
The biggest group of Stafford’s workers comes from Houston
7,389 of the people who work in Stafford live in Houston, 16 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Stafford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Stafford is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #198 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Stafford’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Stafford could be anywhere from B− to A.
Where the people who work in Stafford live
Where Stafford clocks in
54% of workers
3% 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 many people are in Stafford by day
On a workday 7,765 residents head out to work, 460 work right here, and 24,544 people come in from elsewhere.
About 35,000 people are in Stafford on a workday afternoon, 93% more than live here.
3.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
In Stafford, 28% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
25,004 jobs are based in Stafford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Stafford, 2013 → 2023: 22,164 → 25,004. 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 Stafford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Stafford: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Stafford workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,169 commuters (the 10% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Stafford
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Stafford
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Stafford is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #24 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Stafford 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 9,084 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). 5.2% of Stafford households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Stafford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,822 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000, Stafford comes 818th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Rendon TX | 14,632 | $118K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 816 | Salisbury Township PA | 13,707 | $101K | 7.5% | 6.1% | 9% | B+ |
| 817 | Cedar Lake IN | 16,789 | $83K | 3.5% | 5.5% | 6% | B+ |
| 818 | Stafford TX | 18,043 | $87K | 8.0% | 5.8% | 6% | B+ |
| 819 | Colonial Heights VA | 18,738 | $77K | 7.9% | 3.6% | 13% | B+ |
| 820 | Robinson TX | 13,028 | $99K | 3.7% | 6.6% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Stafford, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Stafford’s workers
The biggest share goes to Sugar Land (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Stafford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford | – | B+ | A | 26 min | $87,432 |
| Sugar Land | 9% | A | B | 29 min | $136,217 |
| Fifth Street | under 1% | C | D | — | $29,150 |
| Missouri City | 3% | A− | B− | 30 min | $94,390 |
| Meadows Place | under 1% | B | B− | 22 min | $90,057 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Stafford’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 Stafford: questions
What is the median household income in Stafford?
$87,432 (±$11,614) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Stafford?
8.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Stafford?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Stafford work?
6% work in town.
Is Stafford walkable?
Stafford is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Stafford without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Stafford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Stafford
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.