Highland City has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 2% work in Highland City; the top destination outside it is Lakeland (27%, 8 miles). 1,386 jobs are based in Highland City; 6,317 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Highland City is better than 81% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Highland City, in brief
Highland City has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Highland City went from 818 in 2014 to 1,386 in 2024, +69%. The jobs ↓
Highland City is a place people come home to
There are 1,386 jobs based in Highland City, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Highland City has about 8,300 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Highland City and Lakeland trade workers both ways
Lakeland is the top workplace for Highland City residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Highland City come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Highland City
63% of Highland City residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 44% of the jobs based in Highland City pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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.
Where Highland City’s Jobs & income grade comes from
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Highland City’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Highland City could be anywhere from B to A.
The kinds of work in Highland City
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland City, 2014 → 2024: 818 → 1,386. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Highland City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Highland City on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,192 residents head out to work, 125 work right here, and 1,261 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,300 people are in Highland City on a workday afternoon, 37% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Highland City ends
Where Highland City clocks in
27% of workers
12% 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.
The trip to work from Highland City: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highland City workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,086 commuters (the 12% 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 distance from Highland City to work
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Highland City commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% 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 6,943 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 41% 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 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 1.6% of Highland City households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Highland City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Highland City is 737th among 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Lake Butler FL | 17,125 | $183K | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Lake Mary FL | 16,789 | $109K | 3.5% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 239 | Key Biscayne FL | 14,815 | $182K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 735 | Lancaster MA | 9,161 | $135K | 1.4% | 6.9% | 4% | A− |
| 736 | Grosse Ile Township MI | 10,409 | $127K | 4.1% | 4.6% | 8% | A− |
| 737 | Highland City FL | 13,276 | $91K | 5.9% | 2.6% | 2% | A− |
| 738 | Myrtle Grove NC | 12,637 | $113K | 6.2% | 3.1% | 5% | A− |
| 739 | La Plata MD | 12,137 | $121K | 6.6% | 3.4% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Highland City, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Highland City’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highland City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland City | – | A− | B− | 29 min | $90,947 |
| Bartow | 12% | C+ | B+ | 26 min | $68,178 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bartow. Darker towns draw more of Highland City’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 2024, 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 Highland City: questions
What is the median household income in Highland City?
$90,947 (±$8,125) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland City?
5.9%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland City?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland City work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lakeland (27%, 8 mi), Bartow (12%, 6 mi), Tampa (4%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Highland City walkable?
Highland City is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highland City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highland City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.