Photo: WhisperToMe · Public domainJobs and the daily commute in Surfside Beach
Working residents average 23 minutes each way, where Texas has 27 and the U.S. 26. Hardly any work in Surfside Beach itself; outside it, Houston draws the most (23%, 58 miles). Surfside Beach has 253 jobs; 235 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Surfside Beach in brief
Surfside Beach’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Surfside Beach is Houston, 58 miles away as the crow flies. 23% of working residents (53) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 235 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Surfside Beach
About 37% 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.
Surfside Beach on a workday afternoon
On a workday 233 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 251 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.08 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Surfside Beach commutes to
Where Surfside Beach clocks in
23% of workers
9% of workers
9% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Surfside Beach
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Surfside Beach, 2013 → 2023: 174 → 253. 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 Surfside Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of Texas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Surfside Beach workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 297 commuters (the 11% 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.
Work in the towns next to Surfside Beach
The biggest share goes to Freeport (8%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Surfside Beach workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surfside Beach | – | — | — | 23 min | $100,446 |
| Freeport | 8% | C | C | 25 min | $61,134 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Surfside Beach’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 Surfside Beach: questions
What is the median household income in Surfside Beach?
$100,446 (±$17,342) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Surfside Beach?
7.3%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Surfside Beach?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Surfside Beach work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (23%, 58 mi), Clute (9%, 8 mi), Lake Jackson (9%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Surfside Beach 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 Surfside Beach, from the people who make the trip.
More of Surfside Beach
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.