Work & commute · Galveston

Work & commute in Galveston, TX

48% of Galveston’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Houston (17%), Texas City (3%) and Pasadena (2%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

48%

10,069 of 20,818 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,749 Galveston residents head out of town to work, 10,069 work right here, and 27,230 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Galveston.

10,749live here, work elsewhere

10,069live and work here

27,230work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Galveston goes to work

Galveston (in town)right here

48%10,069

Houston48.6 mi away

17%3,483

Texas City17.1 mi away

3%525

Pasadena34.3 mi away

2%400

League City22.7 mi away

2%387

Austin184.1 mi away

2%321

Dallas271.1 mi away

1%193

San Antonio215.2 mi away

1%172

Webster25.6 mi away

1%160

Pearland33.4 mi away

1%153

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%4,955

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

How far

How far Galveston commutes

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

48%

18%

26%

48%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Galveston is a job hub

1.79jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Galveston are

37,299 jobs are based in Galveston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Galveston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Galveston

37,299 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Galveston residents hold

20,818 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+28%

Jobs based in Galveston, 2013 → 2023: 29,169 → 37,299. 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.