Work & commute · West Columbia

Work & commute in West Columbia, TX

Most working residents leave West Columbia for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Houston (19%), Freeport (5%) and Lake Jackson (4%). Half commute less than 35 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

136 of 1,565 working residents

Typical commute

35 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 1,429 West Columbia residents head out of town to work, 136 work right here, and 1,276 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Columbia.

1,429live here, work elsewhere

136live and work here

1,276work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Columbia goes to work

Houston47.2 mi away

19%293

West Columbia (in town)right here

9%136

Freeport22.4 mi away

5%75

Lake Jackson13.5 mi away

4%70

Angleton13.4 mi away

3%54

Clute17.2 mi away

3%53

Sweeny7.2 mi away

2%35

Sugar Land31.4 mi away

2%33

Bay City21.7 mi away

2%32

Pasadena46.4 mi away

2%32

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%752

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

How far

How far West Columbia commutes

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

16%

26%

34%

24%

16%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

34%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Columbia is balanced between jobs and homes

0.90jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.90 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Columbia are

1,412 jobs are based in West Columbia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Columbia

1,412 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs West Columbia residents hold

1,565 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

−21%

Jobs based in West Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 1,781 → 1,412. 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.