Hallstrom House · Photo: SebasTorrente · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Florida Ridge works elsewhere
Jobs and income earn Florida Ridge C+; getting around on foot earns it C+. 3,523 jobs are based in Florida Ridge, and 9,088 of its residents work somewhere. Only 6% stay in Florida Ridge for work; outside it, Vero Beach is the main destination (17%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Florida Ridge and work: the main findings
Florida Ridge has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Florida Ridge went from 2,245 in 2013 to 3,523 in 2023, +57%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
The four measures behind Florida Ridge’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Florida Ridge is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #384 of 638 in Florida. Unemployment holds Florida Ridge’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($66,625, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Florida Ridge could be anywhere from C− to B+.
What Florida Ridge’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Florida Ridge, 2013 → 2023: 2,245 → 3,523. 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 Florida Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Florida Ridge works
About 31% 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.
Who leaves Florida Ridge for work, and who comes in
On a workday 8,528 residents head out to work, 560 work right here, and 2,963 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Florida Ridge on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Florida Ridge commutes to
Where Florida Ridge clocks in
17% 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.
Florida Ridge’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Florida Ridge workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida State. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,949 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Florida State: 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.
Most of Florida Ridge commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Florida Ridge is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns, #533 of 638 in Florida. Both inputs place Florida Ridge 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 9,212 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.1% of Florida Ridge households have no vehicle (Florida State 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Florida Ridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,705 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000, Florida Ridge comes 1,195th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Pinecrest FL | 18,635 | $206K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Lake Butler FL | 17,125 | $183K | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Palm Valley FL | 19,796 | $117K | 4.2% | 1.2% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,193 | Bridgeview IL | 16,521 | $67K | 12.8% | 7.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,194 | Warsaw IN | 16,130 | $61K | 17.6% | 2.3% | 42% | C+ |
| 1,195 | Florida Ridge FL | 20,889 | $67K | 11.3% | 3.5% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,196 | Panama City Beach FL | 20,375 | $81K | 10.0% | 5.0% | 25% | C+ |
| 1,197 | Port St. John FL | 25,120 | $88K | 9.9% | 6.3% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | 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 Florida Ridge, the top three, the last and three more from Florida State.
The towns around Florida Ridge
The biggest share goes to Vero Beach South (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Florida Ridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Ridge | – | C+ | C+ | 25 min | $66,625 |
| Vero Beach South | 5% | B− | C | 21 min | $73,420 |
| South Beach | under 2% | A− | B− | 26 min | $193,594 |
| Lakewood Park | under 2% | B− | C− | 34 min | $64,023 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Florida Ridge’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 Florida Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Florida Ridge?
$66,625 (±$3,596) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida State and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Florida Ridge?
11.3%, against 12.6% across Florida State and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Florida Ridge?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida State and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Florida Ridge work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Vero Beach (17%, 4 mi), Fort Pierce (7%, 11 mi), Vero Beach South (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Florida Ridge walkable?
Florida Ridge is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Florida Ridge without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Florida Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Florida Ridge
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.