Household incomes put Westlake near the very top of U.S. towns
Westlake grades A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Westlake is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Below the poverty line: 6.6% of residents, next to 13.8% for Texas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Westlake and work: the main findings
Westlake fills up on a workday
Westlake has 20,000 jobs, 26.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 21,000 people are in town, 10 times the 2,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Jobs in Westlake have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Westlake went from 5,710 in 2013 to 20,000 in 2023, +250%. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Westlake
41% of Westlake workers work from home, against 14% across Texas. 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 765 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Westlake’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Westlake is better than 98% of U.S. towns. Household income is its strongest input ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (1.9%) is left out: Westlake’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
The Census reports Westlake’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Westlake could be anywhere from A to A+.
Who works in Westlake, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 731 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 19,966 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in Westlake on a workday afternoon, 935% more than live here.
26.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Westlake is a services town
20,000 jobs are based in Westlake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westlake, 2013 → 2023: 5,710 → 20,000. 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 Westlake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Westlake spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westlake workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 366 commuters (the 41% 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.
Where the people who work in Westlake live
Where Westlake clocks in
13% of workers
10% 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 distance from Westlake to work
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.
For most of Westlake, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westlake is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% 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 622 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.7% of Westlake households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Westlake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Westlake places 86th of 5,793 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Rollingwood TX | 1,466 | $240K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| 22 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | <1% | A+ |
| 23 | Serenada TX | 1,444 | $155K | 1.5% | 2.6% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Clinton NJ | 2,794 | $141K | 2.0% | 1.8% | 7% | A+ |
| 85 | Peapack and Gladstone NJ | 2,587 | $203K | 1.1% | 3.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 86 | Westlake TX | 2,057 | $250K | 6.6% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| 87 | St. Georges DE | 1,530 | $132K | 0.4% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| 88 | Rolling Hills CA | 1,641 | $250K | 5.5% | 5.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | 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 Westlake, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Next door is work for 10% of Westlake
The biggest share goes to Southlake (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westlake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlake | – | A+ | C+ | 26 min | $250,000+ |
| Roanoke | under 3% | A− | C | 27 min | $97,295 |
| Keller | 3% | A+ | B− | 27 min | $174,950 |
| Southlake | 7% | A+ | B− | 26 min | $250,000+ |
| Trophy Club | under 3% | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $201,054 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westlake’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Westlake: questions
What is the median household income in Westlake?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westlake?
6.6%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westlake?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 41% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westlake work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dallas (16%, 29 mi), Fort Worth (13%, 16 mi), Irving (10%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westlake walkable?
Westlake is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westlake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westlake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westlake
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.