Photo: Michel Rathwell from Cornwall, Canada · CC BY 2.0Households in Clearwater earn less than those in 64% of U.S. towns
14.8% of residents live below the poverty line (Florida 12.6%). Jobs and income earn Clearwater B−; getting around on foot earns it A+. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 6.0 in Tampa.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Clearwater: the figures worth knowing
Jobs & income in Clearwater: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clearwater is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #326 of 638 in Florida. Job access by car holds Clearwater’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clearwater could be anywhere from C+ to B.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Clearwater
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clearwater workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 43,848 commuters (the 21% 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.
Clearwater fills up on a workday
On a workday 40,094 residents head out to work, 10,178 work right here, and 56,327 people come in from elsewhere.
About 131,000 people are in Clearwater on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 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.
10% of working residents work in Largo
Where Clearwater clocks in
10% of workers
10% 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.
The 66,505 jobs based in Clearwater
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clearwater, 2013 → 2023: 54,679 → 66,505. 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 Clearwater’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Clearwater commutes
About 16% 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.
Clearwater is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clearwater is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #38 of 638 in Florida. Both inputs place Clearwater 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 55,286 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 33% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 8.9% of Clearwater households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Clearwater’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Clearwater ranks: 223rd of 365 U.S. towns of 80,000 to 154,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Doral FL | 81,634 | $94K | 10.3% | 3.3% | 21% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Plantation FL | 99,183 | $93K | 10.0% | 4.0% | 10% | A− |
| 102 | Riverview FL | 113,697 | $100K | 7.5% | 4.3% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Fargo ND | 136,275 | $67K | 12.9% | 3.8% | 70% | B− |
| 222 | Antioch CA | 118,958 | $97K | 11.4% | 7.4% | 10% | B− |
| 223 | Clearwater FL | 114,364 | $66K | 14.8% | 4.2% | 20% | B− |
| 224 | Perris CA | 83,237 | $89K | 10.7% | 7.9% | 9% | B− |
| 225 | Kenosha WI | 99,239 | $71K | 13.7% | 4.5% | 29% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 365 | Lawton OK | 90,503 | $54K | 21.1% | 8.1% | 55% | 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 Clearwater, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
The towns next door employ 17% of Clearwater
The biggest share goes to Largo (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clearwater workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater | – | B− | A+ | 23 min | $66,381 |
| Dunedin | 3% | B | A− | 25 min | $74,477 |
| Safety Harbor | 2% | A | A− | 25 min | $106,830 |
| Largo | 10% | B− | A− | 25 min | $62,096 |
| Belleair | under 2% | A− | B+ | 20 min | $117,083 |
| Greenbriar | under 2% | B+ | A | 24 min | $73,299 |
| Belleair Beach | under 2% | A | B− | 26 min | $164,063 |
| Palm Harbor | 2% | B+ | B+ | 27 min | $78,935 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clearwater’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 Clearwater: questions
What is the median household income in Clearwater?
$66,381 (±$2,396) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clearwater?
14.8%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clearwater?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clearwater work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Largo (10%, 5 mi), Tampa (10%, 18 mi), St. Petersburg (7%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clearwater walkable?
Clearwater is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clearwater without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 33% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clearwater, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clearwater
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.