Work & commute · Bay

Work & commute in Bay, TX

About one in 4 of Bay’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Houston (18%), Matagorda (3%) and Austin (2%). Half commute less than 54 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

1,966 of 8,488 working residents

Typical commute

54 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 6,522 Bay residents head out of town to work, 1,966 work right here, and 3,678 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bay.

6,522live here, work elsewhere

1,966live and work here

3,678work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bay goes to work

Bay City (in town)right here

23%1,966

Houston65.2 mi away

18%1,562

Matagorda19.8 mi away

3%277

Austin140.9 mi away

2%186

Pasadena67.3 mi away

2%158

San Antonio158.2 mi away

1%127

Victoria63 mi away

1%116

Van Vleck5.5 mi away

1%107

Wharton24.6 mi away

1%90

El Campo24.1 mi away

1%86

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%3,813

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

How far

How far Bay commutes

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

27%

10%

11%

52%

27%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

52%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bay is a commuter town

0.66jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.66 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bay are

5,644 jobs are based in Bay. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bay

5,644 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Bay residents hold

8,488 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+14%

Jobs based in Bay, 2013 → 2023: 4,943 → 5,644. 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.