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Work & commute in Waka · A commuter town

100% of Waka’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Waka for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Perryton (20%), Booker (8%) and Shamrock (8%). Half commute less than 57 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 25 working residents
Typical commute
57 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Work from home
0%
Less than TX (14%)
Jobs based here
1
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Waka?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

20% of working residents work in Perryton

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Turkey: 1 residents work here (4%)Booker: 2 residents work here (8%)Wheeler: 1 residents work here (4%)Shamrock: 2 residents work here (8%)Spearman: 1 residents work here (4%)Perryton: 5 residents work here (20%)Plainview: 1 residents work here (4%)Gainesville: 1 residents work here (4%)Rockwall: 1 residents work here (4%)Amarillo: 2 residents work here (8%)WakaPerrytonBookerShamrockAmarilloTurkeyWheelerWaka
1
Perryton15.7 mi away
20%5
2
Booker30.5 mi away
8%2
3
Shamrock86.2 mi away
8%2
4
Amarillo86.8 mi away
8%2
5
Turkey130.7 mi away
4%1
6
Wheeler72.3 mi away
4%1
7
Spearman10.2 mi away
4%1
8
Plainview149.4 mi away
4%1
9
Gainesville286.3 mi away
4%1
10
Rockwall350.1 mi away
4%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
32%8
The top trips

Where Waka clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

Waka quiets down on a workday

On a workday 25 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 1 people come in from elsewhere.

25live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
1work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night110
Workday82
110live here− 25head out to work+ 1come in to work= 82on a workday

About 82 people are in Waka on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.04jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Waka commutes less than 57 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miPerryton: 20% · 15.7 miBooker: 8% · 30.5 miShamrock: 8% · 86.2 miAmarillo: 8% · 86.8 miTurkey: 4% · 130.7 miWheeler: 4% · 72.3 miSpearman: 4% · 10.2 miPlainview: 4% · 149.4 miGainesville: 4% · 286.3 miRockwall: 4% · 350.1 miPerryton 20%Booker 8%Shamrock 8%Amarillo 8%Turkey 4%Waka
WakaTop destinations (size = commuters)
0%Under 10 mi0 residents
36%10–24 mi9 residents
12%25–50 mi3 residents
52%Over 50 mi13 residents

About 52% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in WakaJobs Waka residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%40%
Trade, transport & utilities0%20%
Services: health, schools, offices100%40%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less0%16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month0%32%
Over $3,333 a month100%52%

Who does it

29 or younger0%20%
30 to 54100%60%
55 and older0%20%
−98%

Jobs based in Waka, 2013 → 2023: 52 → 1. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

Working from home in Waka

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

Working from home
0%

of Waka workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Waka

Waka home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Waka, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Waka worth it?

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Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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