Austin draws more than half of Wells Branch’s working residents
Household incomes here are lower than in 63% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Wells Branch are B+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. 26% of workers have no commute at all, next to 14% for Texas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Wells Branch
Wells Branch trades workers with the towns around it
Wells Branch has about as many jobs (8,135) as working residents (7,353), but they are mostly different people: 7,147 residents leave for work each day while 7,929 people come in. Only 3% of the jobs in Wells Branch are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
More than half of Wells Branch works in Austin
4,009 working residents, 55%, have their main job in Austin, 11 miles away across the town line. That’s 18 times as many as work in Wells Branch itself. The commute map ↓
A lot of Wells Branch works from home
26% of Wells Branch workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Wells Branch are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Wells Branch draws workers from far and wide
The 8,135 jobs in Wells Branch are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 42%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Wells Branch’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wells Branch is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #220 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Wells Branch’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wells Branch could be anywhere from B− to A−.
A workday in Wells Branch: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 7,147 residents head out to work, 206 work right here, and 7,929 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 (1.11 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.
Where Wells Branch goes to work
Where Wells Branch clocks in
55% of workers
8% of workers
3% 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 trip to work from Wells Branch: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wells Branch workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,154 commuters (the 26% 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.
70% of the jobs in Wells Branch pay over $3,333 a month
8,135 jobs are based in Wells Branch.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wells Branch, 2013 → 2023: 6,961 → 8,135. 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 Wells Branch’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Wells Branch
About 19% 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.
Driving is how Wells Branch gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wells Branch is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #225 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% of 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 8,296 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 60% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 25% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.7% of Wells Branch households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Wells Branch’s commuters take a bus or train.
Wells Branch places 1,184th of 2,526 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lantana TX | 12,766 | $199K | 0.6% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Bellaire TX | 17,434 | $244K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,182 | Dudley MA | 11,972 | $85K | 6.4% | 4.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,183 | Schoolcraft Township MI | 9,316 | $81K | 8.5% | 3.1% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,184 | Wells Branch TX | 13,523 | $67K | 12.9% | 2.8% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,185 | Indianola IA | 16,829 | $75K | 6.4% | 4.0% | 22% | B+ |
| 1,186 | Jackson MO | 16,033 | $77K | 8.6% | 1.8% | 19% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Wells Branch, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door is work for 55% of Wells Branch
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wells Branch workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Branch | – | B+ | B | 22 min | $66,656 |
| Austin | 55% | B+ | A | 24 min | $93,658 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Austin. Darker towns draw more of Wells Branch’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 Wells Branch: questions
What is the median household income in Wells Branch?
$66,656 (±$4,180) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wells Branch?
12.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wells Branch?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wells Branch work?
3% work in town.
Is Wells Branch walkable?
Wells Branch is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wells Branch without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 25% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wells Branch, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wells Branch
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.