Work & commute · Panhandle

Work & commute in Panhandle, TX

Most working residents leave Panhandle for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Amarillo (31%), Borger (7%) and Lubbock (3%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

59 of 816 working residents

Typical commute

28 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 757 Panhandle residents head out of town to work, 59 work right here, and 277 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Panhandle.

757live here, work elsewhere

59live and work here

277work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Panhandle goes to work

Amarillo27.3 mi away

31%255

Panhandle (in town)right here

7%59

Borger21.7 mi away

7%54

Lubbock126.6 mi away

3%27

Pampa27.2 mi away

2%17

Dallas317.5 mi away

1%12

Canyon39.1 mi away

1%10

Plainview82.2 mi away

1%9

White Deer13 mi away

1%8

San Antonio439.3 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%359

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

How far

How far Panhandle commutes

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

11%

28%

37%

24%

11%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

37%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Panhandle is a commuter town

0.41jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.41 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Panhandle are

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

Jobs based in Panhandle

336 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Panhandle residents hold

816 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+2%

Jobs based in Panhandle, 2013 → 2023: 331 → 336. 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.