Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Vernon (11.8%) than in 97% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Vernon is behind 87% of U.S. towns. Vernon grades D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 1% of workers have no commute at all, where Texas as a whole has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Vernon stands out on work
Commutes from Vernon are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Vernon go to people who live here
Of the 4,868 jobs based in Vernon, 52% are held by Vernon residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Few Vernon 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Vernon
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Vernon is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #615 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Vernon’s grade up (ahead of 23% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Vernon could be anywhere from D− to C−.
From Vernon, about 13 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vernon workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,027 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.
A workday in Vernon: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,110 residents head out to work, 2,513 work right here, and 2,355 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 (1.05 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Vernon
About 32% 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.
7% of working residents work in Wichita Falls
Where Vernon clocks in
7% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
The 4,868 jobs based in Vernon
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vernon, 2013 → 2023: 4,741 → 4,868. 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 Vernon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Vernon, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Vernon is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #131 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Vernon 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 4,078 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). 6.7% of Vernon households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Vernon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Vernon and other U.S. towns of 6,800 to 13,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Oak Point TX | 6,909 | $126K | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,741 | Orange Cove CA | 9,811 | $47K | 34.0% | 16.7% | 6% | D |
| 2,742 | Sterling CO | 13,054 | $43K | 19.0% | 7.8% | 40% | D |
| 2,743 | Vernon TX | 9,747 | $51K | 18.6% | 11.8% | 54% | D |
| 2,744 | Andalusia AL | 8,763 | $43K | 25.4% | 6.7% | 44% | D |
| 2,745 | Sweetwater TX | 10,141 | $45K | 28.1% | 6.9% | 41% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,800 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Vernon, 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 Vernon: questions
What is the median household income in Vernon?
$51,114 (±$6,577) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vernon?
18.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vernon?
13 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vernon work?
54% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wichita Falls (7%, 47 mi), Fort Worth (3%, 147 mi), Abilene (2%, 120 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Vernon walkable?
Vernon is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vernon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vernon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vernon
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.