Work & commute · Columbus

Work & commute in Columbus, TX

About one in 4 of Columbus’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Houston (20%), Austin (2%) and Weimar (2%). Half commute less than 46 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

385 of 1,643 working residents

Typical commute

46 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 1,258 Columbus residents head out of town to work, 385 work right here, and 1,987 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbus.

1,258live here, work elsewhere

385live and work here

1,987work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbus goes to work

Columbus (in town)right here

23%385

Houston70.3 mi away

20%326

Austin82.6 mi away

2%39

Weimar13.2 mi away

2%38

Schulenburg21.1 mi away

1%22

San Antonio119.4 mi away

1%22

Brenham32.9 mi away

1%21

Katy43.4 mi away

1%20

Eagle Lake15.9 mi away

1%18

Sealy24.1 mi away

1%18

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%734

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

How far

How far Columbus commutes

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

31%

11%

49%

31%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

49%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbus is balanced between jobs and homes

1.44jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbus are

2,372 jobs are based in Columbus. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbus

2,372 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Columbus residents hold

1,643 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+3%

Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 2,307 → 2,372. 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.