Work & commute · Port Lavaca

Work & commute in Port Lavaca, TX

About one in 4 of Port Lavaca’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Point Comfort (13%), Victoria (7%) and Houston (6%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

24%

1,142 of 4,845 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 3,703 Port Lavaca residents head out of town to work, 1,142 work right here, and 2,306 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Port Lavaca.

3,703live here, work elsewhere

1,142live and work here

2,306work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Port Lavaca goes to work

Port Lavaca (in town)right here

24%1,142

Point Comfort5.6 mi away

13%637

Victoria26.1 mi away

7%319

Houston110 mi away

6%302

San Antonio128.6 mi away

3%153

Austin134.4 mi away

2%106

Corpus Christi68.3 mi away

2%93

Dallas288.6 mi away

1%46

Ganado30.1 mi away

1%40

Alvin101.5 mi away

1%27

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%1,980

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

How far

How far Port Lavaca commutes

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

42%

14%

35%

42%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Port Lavaca is a commuter town

0.71jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Port Lavaca are

3,448 jobs are based in Port Lavaca. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Port Lavaca’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Port Lavaca

3,448 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Port Lavaca residents hold

4,845 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)37%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

−14%

Jobs based in Port Lavaca, 2013 → 2023: 4,031 → 3,448. 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.