Households in Sullivan City earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 32.1% of residents, next to 13.8% for Texas as a whole. Sullivan City grades D for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Only 3% stay in Sullivan City for work; outside it, McAllen is the main destination (14%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sullivan City, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in Sullivan City than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Sullivan City fell from 445 in 2014 to 280 in 2024, −37%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Sullivan City are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Sullivan City workers earn over $40,000 a year
40% of Sullivan City’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Sullivan City is a place people come home to
There are 280 jobs based in Sullivan City, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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 Sullivan City’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sullivan City is better than 11% of U.S. towns, #583 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Sullivan City’s grade up (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sullivan City could be anywhere from D to B−.
What work there is in Sullivan City: 280 jobs
280 jobs are based in Sullivan City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sullivan City, 2014 → 2024: 445 → 280. 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 Sullivan City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Sullivan City, about 20 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sullivan City workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,407 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.
How many people are in Sullivan City by day
On a workday 1,061 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 244 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Sullivan City on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.26 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 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Sullivan City: the destinations
Where Sullivan City clocks in
14% of workers
8% 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.
Miles to work from Sullivan City
About 31% 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.
Most trips from Sullivan City start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sullivan City is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #642 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Sullivan City 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 1,530 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.1% of Sullivan City households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sullivan City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,364 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,300, Sullivan City comes 3,918th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 5 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,916 | Lexington MO | 4,568 | $57K | 17.0% | 7.4% | 13% | D |
| 3,917 | Windsor Township MO | 3,454 | $52K | 23.3% | 4.7% | 23% | D |
| 3,918 | Sullivan City TX | 3,891 | $44K | 32.1% | 7.0% | 3% | D |
| 3,919 | Afton NY | 2,719 | $52K | 12.1% | 7.8% | 9% | D |
| 3,920 | Lincoln Park CO | 3,986 | $60K | 13.9% | 8.6% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,364 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Sullivan City, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door to Sullivan City
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sullivan City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan City | – | D | D− | 20 min | $44,464 |
| Cuevitas | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Cuevitas: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sullivan City’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 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 Sullivan City: questions
What is the median household income in Sullivan City?
$44,464 (±$20,897) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sullivan City?
32.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sullivan City?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sullivan City work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McAllen (14%, 20 mi), La Joya (14%, 6 mi), Edinburg (8%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Sullivan City walkable?
Sullivan City is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 2.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sullivan City 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 Sullivan City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sullivan City
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. 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.