Jobs and earnings in Wells, and the trip to work
Only 3% work in Wells itself; outside it, Lufkin draws the most (16%, 17 miles). 0% of workers have no commute at all, where Texas as a whole has 14%. Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average; Texas averages 27, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Wells at work: what stands out
A big share show a job far from home
53% 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 ↓
Wells and Lufkin trade workers both ways
Lufkin is the top workplace for Wells residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Wells come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Wells workers work from home
Only 0% 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; with 206 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Wells’ commute, mile by mile
About 53% 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.
Where Wells’ working residents head each day
Where Wells clocks in
16% of workers
5% 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.
Wells’ commute takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wells workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 100 commuters (the 0% 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.
Who leaves Wells for work, and who comes in
On a workday 199 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 117 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.
0.60 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Wells: 124 jobs
124 jobs are based in Wells.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wells, 2013 → 2023: 129 → 124. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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: questions
What is the poverty rate in Wells?
42.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wells?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wells work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lufkin (16%, 17 mi), Houston (5%, 121 mi), Tyler (5%, 61 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Wells without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wells, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wells
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.