Work & commute · Abilene

Work & commute in Abilene, TX

62% of Abilene’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Dallas (2%), Austin (2%) and Fort Worth (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

62%

30,489 of 48,801 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 18,312 Abilene residents head out of town to work, 30,489 work right here, and 25,713 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Abilene.

18,312live here, work elsewhere

30,489live and work here

25,713work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Abilene goes to work

Abilene (in town)right here

62%30,489

Dallas174.5 mi away

2%1,014

Austin189.4 mi away

2%829

Fort Worth140.9 mi away

2%791

San Angelo81.5 mi away

1%674

Houston316.5 mi away

1%575

Lubbock146.2 mi away

1%555

San Antonio218.8 mi away

1%527

Midland142 mi away

1%420

Irving163.4 mi away

1%312

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%12,615

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Abilene commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

64%

31%

64%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Abilene is balanced between jobs and homes

1.15jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Abilene are

56,202 jobs are based in Abilene. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Abilene’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Abilene

56,202 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Abilene residents hold

48,801 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+14%

Jobs based in Abilene, 2013 → 2023: 49,188 → 56,202. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.