Tool has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Only 4% work in Tool; the top destination outside it is Mabank (7%, 7 miles). There are 160 jobs in Tool, and 642 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Tool is better than 16% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (D).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Tool, in brief
Tool workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 47 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 360 hours of commuting, 153 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
43% 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 ↓
Tool is a place people come home to
There are 160 jobs based in Tool, 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 642 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Tool
Household income holds Tool’s grade up ($71,333, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.1%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tool could be anywhere from D− to B−.
The trip to work from Tool: about 47 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 15.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tool workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 915 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.
How far Tool goes to work
About 43% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Tool
On a workday 618 residents head out to work, 24 work right here, and 136 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Tool 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where Tool goes to work
Where Tool clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
What Tool’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tool, 2013 → 2023: 230 → 160. 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 Tool’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Tool start in a car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,031 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). 3.3% of Tool households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Tool’s commuters take a bus or train.
Tool is 4,155th of 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Hollywood Park TX | 3,140 | $138K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Talty TX | 3,299 | $155K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Southside Place TX | 1,916 | $163K | 5.0% | 5.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,153 | St. Charles MI | 1,941 | $50K | 15.3% | 5.7% | 9% | C− |
| 4,154 | East Helena MT | 2,325 | $60K | 16.5% | 7.9% | 6% | C− |
| 4,155 | Tool TX | 2,427 | $71K | 17.3% | 7.1% | 4% | C− |
| 4,156 | Stagecoach NV | 1,892 | $70K | 13.0% | 8.5% | 1% | C− |
| 4,157 | Bentleyville PA | 2,326 | $51K | 25.5% | 7.4% | 9% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Tool, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Work in the towns next to Tool
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tool workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tool | – | C− | D | 47 min | $71,333 |
| Seven Points | under 3% | D− | C− | 35 min | $39,934 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Tool’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 Tool: questions
What is the median household income in Tool?
$71,333 (±$17,212) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tool?
17.3%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tool?
47 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tool work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mabank (7%, 7 mi), Gun Barrel City (6%, 4 mi), Athens (6%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tool walkable?
Tool is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tool without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tool, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tool
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.