Tulia’s household incomes are among the lowest in the country
Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. 31.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.8% across Texas. The two grades for Tulia are D for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Tulia in brief
Tulia’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Tulia is Amarillo, 46 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (267) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Tulia 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 ↓
Few Tulia workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Tulia
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tulia is better than 8% of U.S. towns, #609 of 642 in Texas. Unemployment holds Tulia’s grade up (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($32,288, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tulia could be anywhere from D− to C−.
The distance from Tulia to work
About 24% 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.
Commuting from Tulia: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tulia workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,872 commuters (the 1% 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 Tulia by day
On a workday 1,148 residents head out to work, 571 work right here, and 787 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 (0.79 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.
16% of working residents work in Amarillo
Where Tulia clocks in
16% of workers
5% 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.
Inside Tulia’s 1,358 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tulia, 2013 → 2023: 1,281 → 1,358. 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 Tulia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Tulia is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tulia is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns, #501 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,882 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). 8.6% of Tulia households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Tulia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Tulia sits among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,694 | Mitchell IN | 4,019 | $49K | 20.7% | 7.4% | 17% | D |
| 3,695 | Manning SC | 3,829 | $29K | 17.7% | 7.2% | 21% | D |
| 3,696 | Tulia TX | 4,242 | $32K | 31.9% | 4.2% | 33% | D |
| 3,697 | Stephenson WI | 3,654 | $57K | 14.4% | 8.3% | 10% | D |
| 3,698 | Planada CA | 3,506 | $43K | 21.4% | 8.1% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,962 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Tulia, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
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 Tulia: questions
What is the median household income in Tulia?
$32,288 (±$12,011) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tulia?
31.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tulia?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tulia work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Amarillo (16%, 46 mi), Canyon (5%, 32 mi), Lubbock (4%, 68 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tulia walkable?
Tulia is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tulia without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tulia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tulia
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.