Work & commute · West

Work & commute in West, TX

Most working residents leave West for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Waco (25%), Austin (3%) and Lacy-Lakeview (3%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

224 of 1,227 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,003 West residents head out of town to work, 224 work right here, and 978 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West.

1,003live here, work elsewhere

224live and work here

978work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West goes to work

Waco17.8 mi away

25%312

West (in town)right here

18%224

Austin111 mi away

3%38

Lacy-Lakeview11.9 mi away

3%36

Fort Worth69.2 mi away

3%33

Bellmead13.9 mi away

2%26

Houston172.3 mi away

2%26

Hillsboro14.2 mi away

2%25

Dallas71.1 mi away

2%24

Temple51.3 mi away

1%15

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%468

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

How far

How far West commutes

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

26%

40%

31%

26%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West is balanced between jobs and homes

0.98jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.98 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West are

1,202 jobs are based in West. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West

1,202 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs West residents hold

1,227 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−5%

Jobs based in West, 2013 → 2023: 1,269 → 1,202. 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.