Work & commute · Sterling

Work & commute in Sterling, TX

Most working residents leave Sterling for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are San Angelo (11%), Midland (7%) and Abilene (6%). Half commute less than 68 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

48 of 392 working residents

Typical commute

68 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 344 Sterling residents head out of town to work, 48 work right here, and 173 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sterling.

344live here, work elsewhere

48live and work here

173work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sterling goes to work

Sterling City (in town)right here

12%48

San Angelo41.8 mi away

11%42

Midland67.3 mi away

7%29

Abilene84.5 mi away

6%23

Odessa79.8 mi away

4%14

Coleman91.8 mi away

3%10

Houston361.1 mi away

2%9

Kerrville166 mi away

2%8

Lubbock130.1 mi away

2%8

Big Spring40.2 mi away

2%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%195

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

How far

How far Sterling commutes

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

13%

18%

61%

13%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

61%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sterling is a commuter town

0.56jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Sterling are

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

Jobs based in Sterling

221 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month44%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Sterling residents hold

392 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−40%

Jobs based in Sterling, 2013 → 2023: 366 → 221. 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.