Work & commute · Lubbock

Work & commute in Lubbock, TX

72% of Lubbock’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Wolfforth (2%), Amarillo (1%) and Dallas (1%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

72%

82,911 of 115,574 working residents

Typical commute

5 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 32,663 Lubbock residents head out of town to work, 82,911 work right here, and 52,429 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lubbock.

32,663live here, work elsewhere

82,911live and work here

52,429work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lubbock goes to work

Lubbock (in town)right here

72%82,911

Wolfforth7.7 mi away

2%1,822

Amarillo113.2 mi away

1%1,551

Dallas300.9 mi away

1%1,523

Midland107 mi away

1%1,101

Levelland27.4 mi away

1%901

Houston462.6 mi away

1%887

Odessa119.2 mi away

1%874

Austin331 mi away

1%788

Abilene146.2 mi away

1%594

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%22,622

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

How far

How far Lubbock commutes

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

76%

19%

76%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lubbock is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lubbock are

135,340 jobs are based in Lubbock. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lubbock’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lubbock

135,340 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Lubbock residents hold

115,574 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+14%

Jobs based in Lubbock, 2013 → 2023: 118,786 → 135,340. 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.