Commerce is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Commerce to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.
The percentage of people in Commerce who are college-educated is somewhat higher than the average US community of 21.84%: 25.70% of adults in Commerce have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Commerce in 2022 was $20,673, which is low income relative to Texas and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $82,692 for a family of four. However, Commerce contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Commerce is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Commerce home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Commerce residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Commerce also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 22.60% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Commerce include German, English, Irish, Polish, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Commerce is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Other Asian languages.
