Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 2.5Unemployment in Auburndale (3.5%) is lower than in 61% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Auburndale is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (C+). Only 7% work in Auburndale itself; outside it, Lakeland draws the most (16%, 10 miles). The average commute takes 33 minutes each way; Florida averages 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Auburndale stands out on work
Auburndale draws workers from far and wide
The 9,981 jobs in Auburndale are filled from a wide area. Auburndale’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; the other 73% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Auburndale has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Auburndale went from 5,869 in 2013 to 9,981 in 2023, +70%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Auburndale are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Auburndale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 28 across Florida. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Auburndale’s grade explained
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Auburndale’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Auburndale could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Where people from Auburndale work
Where Auburndale clocks in
16% of workers
7% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Jobs in Auburndale: what the 9,981 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Auburndale, 2013 → 2023: 5,869 → 9,981. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Auburndale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Auburndale: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Auburndale workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,446 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Florida: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who commutes out of Auburndale, and who commutes in
On a workday 7,394 residents head out to work, 580 work right here, and 9,401 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Miles to work from Auburndale
About 17% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Auburndale: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.6% across Florida.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,607 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.7% of Auburndale households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Auburndale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 29,000, Auburndale ranks 983rd of 1,787 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Pinecrest FL | 18,635 | $206K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Lake Butler FL | 17,125 | $183K | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Palm Valley FL | 19,796 | $117K | 4.2% | 1.2% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 981 | Live Oak CA | 16,911 | $104K | 12.9% | 4.1% | 11% | B |
| 982 | Dixon CA | 21,116 | $103K | 10.2% | 5.9% | 13% | B |
| 983 | Auburndale FL | 21,369 | $78K | 9.6% | 3.5% | 7% | B |
| 984 | Bear DE | 22,370 | $92K | 8.7% | 5.9% | 3% | B |
| 985 | Coralville IA | 23,960 | $69K | 13.0% | 2.2% | 16% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,787 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Auburndale, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Auburndale and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Auburndale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburndale | – | B | C+ | 33 min | $77,911 |
| Polk City | under 1% | B | C− | 32 min | $79,762 |
| Inwood | under 1% | C− | B− | 39 min | $55,540 |
| Fussels Corner | under 1% | C | C− | 24 min | $56,091 |
| Winter Haven | 7% | C | B | 28 min | $59,648 |
| Lake Alfred | under 1% | C+ | A− | 32 min | $67,202 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Winter Haven. Darker towns draw more of Auburndale’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Auburndale: questions
What is the median household income in Auburndale?
$77,911 (±$5,903) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Auburndale?
9.6%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Auburndale?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Auburndale work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lakeland (16%, 10 mi), Bartow (7%, 16 mi), Winter Haven (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Auburndale walkable?
Auburndale is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Auburndale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Auburndale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Auburndale
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.