Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, TX

49% of Center’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Houston (5%), Nacogdoches (4%) and Lufkin (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

49%

1,063 of 2,149 working residents

Typical commute

3 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 1,086 Center residents head out of town to work, 1,063 work right here, and 4,838 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

1,086live here, work elsewhere

1,063live and work here

4,838work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Center (in town)right here

49%1,063

Houston156.1 mi away

5%103

Nacogdoches30.4 mi away

4%86

Lufkin45.8 mi away

3%75

Beaumont118 mi away

1%32

Port Arthur131.9 mi away

1%25

Shelbyville6.5 mi away

1%20

San Augustine18.6 mi away

1%16

Austin235.4 mi away

1%13

Pasadena158.6 mi away

1%12

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%704

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

How far

How far Center commutes

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

54%

11%

29%

54%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is a job hub

2.75jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

5,901 jobs are based in Center. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Center

5,901 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)48%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Center residents hold

2,149 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)42%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month46%

+18%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 4,994 → 5,901. 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.