More people are out of work in Balm (9.2%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 86% of U.S. towns. Balm grades B+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. Hardly any work in Balm; the top destination outside it is Tampa (22%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Balm: the figures worth knowing
Balm is a place people come home to
There are 163 jobs based in Balm, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Balm has about 4,300 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Balm workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 28 across Florida. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 69 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.
How Balm earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Balm is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #189 of 638 in Florida. The poverty rate holds Balm’s grade up (2.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Balm could be anywhere from B− to A+.
How many people are in Balm by day
On a workday 2,996 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 152 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Balm on a workday afternoon, 40% fewer than live here.
0.05 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Balm: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Balm workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,199 commuters (the 16% 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.
The places Balm commutes to
Where Balm clocks in
22% of workers
4% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 35% of the jobs in Balm
163 jobs are based in Balm.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Balm, 2013 → 2023: 174 → 163. 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 Balm’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Balm commutes
About 19% 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.
Most of Balm commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Balm is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns, #627 of 638 in Florida. Both inputs place Balm near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,801 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.0% of Balm households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Balm’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,205 U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700, Balm comes 1,207th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Southwest Ranches FL | 7,773 | $161K | 3.8% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 179 | Neptune Beach FL | 7,020 | $119K | 3.1% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 337 | Westlake FL | 9,042 | $132K | 3.2% | 2.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,205 | Pacific WA | 7,056 | $116K | 13.8% | 4.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,206 | Wawayanda NY | 8,428 | $143K | 5.0% | 6.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,207 | Balm FL | 7,181 | $115K | 2.2% | 9.2% | <1% | B+ |
| 1,208 | Wright City MO | 5,854 | $80K | 5.8% | 4.0% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,209 | Garwood NJ | 5,390 | $111K | 9.9% | 7.1% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Balm, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Around Balm: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Riverview (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Balm workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balm | – | B+ | D | 37 min | $114,659 |
| Riverview | 3% | B+ | B− | 35 min | $100,438 |
| Wimauma | under 2% | C | B+ | 38 min | $68,274 |
| Sun City Center | 2% | B+ | C− | 34 min | $73,528 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Balm’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 Balm: questions
What is the median household income in Balm?
$114,659 (±$31,207) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Balm?
2.2%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Balm?
37 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Balm work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tampa (22%, 19 mi), East Lake-Orient Park (5%, 18 mi), Brandon (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Balm walkable?
Balm is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Balm without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Balm, from the people who make the trip.
More of Balm
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.