Work & commute · Harlingen

Work & commute in Harlingen, TX

41% of Harlingen’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Brownsville (9%), San Benito (5%) and McAllen (4%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41%

10,682 of 25,743 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 15,061 Harlingen residents head out of town to work, 10,682 work right here, and 27,723 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Harlingen.

15,061live here, work elsewhere

10,682live and work here

27,723work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Harlingen goes to work

Harlingen (in town)right here

41%10,682

Brownsville19.4 mi away

9%2,270

San Benito5.4 mi away

5%1,221

McAllen34.1 mi away

4%944

Weslaco18.1 mi away

3%854

Houston285.5 mi away

3%658

Edinburg29.6 mi away

3%657

San Antonio231.6 mi away

2%552

Corpus Christi112.7 mi away

2%463

Austin283.8 mi away

1%384

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%7,058

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

How far

How far Harlingen commutes

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

51%

17%

12%

21%

51%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Harlingen is balanced between jobs and homes

1.49jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.49 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Harlingen are

38,405 jobs are based in Harlingen. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harlingen’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Harlingen

38,405 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Harlingen residents hold

25,743 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month43%

+7%

Jobs based in Harlingen, 2013 → 2023: 35,986 → 38,405. 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.