Koreshan Unity Settlement Historic District · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Estero are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Estero is better than 78% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (B). Below the poverty line: 7.7% of residents, against 12.6% across Florida. About one in ten work in Estero; the top destination outside it is Bonita Springs (8%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Estero, in brief
Estero trades workers with the towns around it
Estero has about as many jobs (11,705) as working residents (12,278), but they are mostly different people: 11,002 residents leave for work each day while 10,429 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in Estero are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Estero’s commute
The biggest draw, Bonita Springs, gets only 8% of working residents, and 59% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Estero residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Estero has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Estero went from 7,448 in 2013 to 11,705 in 2023, +57%. The jobs ↓
Estero draws workers from far and wide
The 11,705 jobs in Estero are filled from a wide area. Estero’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Inside Estero’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($104,102, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Estero could be anywhere from B to A.
Who leaves Estero for work, and who comes in
On a workday 11,002 residents head out to work, 1,276 work right here, and 10,429 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 (0.95 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.
Where Estero’s working residents head each day
Where Estero clocks in
8% of workers
8% 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.
What the 11,705 jobs in Estero are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Estero, 2013 → 2023: 7,448 → 11,705. 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 Estero’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Estero: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Estero workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,266 commuters (the 23% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Estero
About 29% 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.
In Estero, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 13,364 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 2.4% of Estero households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Estero’s commuters take a bus or train.
Estero is 420th of 1,113 U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Parkland FL | 39,186 | $199K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Fruit Cove FL | 35,877 | $142K | 2.7% | 2.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Lutz FL | 27,106 | $120K | 6.1% | 2.6% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 418 | Mint Hill NC | 29,476 | $101K | 8.4% | 4.1% | 6% | A− |
| 419 | Sayreville NJ | 46,787 | $100K | 6.2% | 5.8% | 8% | A− |
| 420 | Estero FL | 38,365 | $104K | 7.7% | 3.1% | 10% | A− |
| 421 | Belmont CA | 28,752 | $205K | 6.9% | 7.2% | 4% | A− |
| 422 | Happy Valley OR | 28,916 | $122K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Estero, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Work in the towns next to Estero
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Estero workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estero | – | A− | B | 26 min | $104,102 |
| Bonita Springs | 8% | B+ | A− | 24 min | $95,210 |
| Three Oaks | under 1% | B+ | A− | 26 min | $107,417 |
| San Carlos Park | 1% | B+ | B− | 28 min | $85,952 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bonita Springs. Darker towns draw more of Estero’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 Estero: questions
What is the median household income in Estero?
$104,102 (±$7,413) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Estero?
7.7%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Estero?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Estero work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bonita Springs (8%, 5 mi), Fort Myers (8%, 13 mi), Naples (4%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Estero walkable?
Estero is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Estero without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Estero, from the people who make the trip.
More of Estero
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.