More of Houston commutes in reverse

The number of reverse commuters — those who drive from their homes in urban locations to their jobs in suburban ones — has risen substantially in Houston as more companies set up shop in the surrounding region. Yet the city still has one of the lowest rates of reverse commuting in the nation, new research shows.

An average of 31.6 percent of workers here travel outside of the city for their jobs, compared with 46 percent nationally, according to a report from commercial real estate firm JLL.

The report, which analyzed populations in the top 25 U.S. metros, found that educated workers here are moving to the suburbs at higher rate than they’re moving to the urban core.

The population of college grads in the suburbs grew by 256,090 between 2011 and 2015, an increase of 39.7 percent,

while the same population in the city grew by 119,341 between that same time, an increase of 32.8 percent.

The city of Houston is home to 60.2 percent of the region’s jobs. In Miami, Detroit and Atlanta, for example, the city is home to 11.7 percent, 13.1 percent and 17.7 percent of the region’s jobs, respectively.

“Across the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, the share of jobs located within the major city varies considerably,” JLL said. “Many consecutive decades of suburban growth mean that the majority of office-occupying jobs in major regions are located outside the major cities, even in markets with competitive tax environments and extensive infrastructure.”