Work & commute · Port Arthur

Work & commute in Port Arthur, TX

About one in 4 of Port Arthur’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Beaumont (14%), Houston (11%) and Nederland (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

4,565 of 18,530 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 13,965 Port Arthur residents head out of town to work, 4,565 work right here, and 15,171 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Port Arthur.

13,965live here, work elsewhere

4,565live and work here

15,171work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Port Arthur goes to work

Port Arthur (in town)right here

25%4,565

Beaumont19.7 mi away

14%2,665

Houston89.9 mi away

11%1,949

Nederland8 mi away

4%757

Groves3.4 mi away

3%580

Port Neches5.8 mi away

2%362

Deer Park74.7 mi away

2%305

Central Gardens9.7 mi away

1%269

Orange17.6 mi away

1%260

Pasadena77.3 mi away

1%238

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%6,580

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

How far

How far Port Arthur commutes

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

39%

22%

37%

39%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

37%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Port Arthur is balanced between jobs and homes

1.07jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.07 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Port Arthur are

19,736 jobs are based in Port Arthur. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Port Arthur’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Port Arthur

19,736 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Port Arthur residents hold

18,530 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+9%

Jobs based in Port Arthur, 2013 → 2023: 18,039 → 19,736. 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.