Photo: Smothert1 · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Homestead commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 31.0 in Miami. Employers in Homestead report 14,418 jobs, against 34,672 working residents. Homestead grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Homestead, in brief
Homestead workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 28 across Florida. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Homestead’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Homestead is Miami, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (4,827) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Homestead has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Homestead went from 9,824 in 2013 to 14,418 in 2023, +47%. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Homestead
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Homestead is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #394 of 638 in Florida. Job access by car holds Homestead’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (18.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Homestead could be anywhere from C to B−.
Time on the road from Homestead: about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Homestead workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 35,239 commuters (the 7% 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.
Half of Homestead commutes less than 24 miles
About 17% 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.
What Homestead’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Homestead, 2013 → 2023: 9,824 → 14,418. 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 Homestead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Homestead quiets down on a workday
On a workday 31,357 residents head out to work, 3,315 work right here, and 11,103 people come in from elsewhere.
About 66,000 people are in Homestead on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
14% of working residents work in Miami
Where Homestead clocks in
14% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Homestead
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Homestead is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #208 of 638 in Florida. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% 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 37,804 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 8.0% of Homestead households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Homestead’s commuters take a bus or train.
398th of 534: where Homestead ranks among U.S. towns of 60,000 to 116,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Weston FL | 69,588 | $140K | 6.1% | 3.9% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Horizon West FL | 67,416 | $127K | 7.3% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Palm Beach Gardens FL | 63,883 | $107K | 7.2% | 3.9% | 17% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 396 | Fort Myers FL | 101,581 | $64K | 16.3% | 4.2% | 25% | C+ |
| 397 | El Monte CA | 105,075 | $68K | 17.4% | 6.3% | 9% | C+ |
| 398 | Homestead FL | 86,242 | $65K | 18.4% | 4.0% | 10% | C+ |
| 399 | Pawtucket RI | 77,065 | $68K | 13.3% | 7.3% | 12% | C+ |
| 400 | Meriden CT | 60,810 | $71K | 13.2% | 8.0% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 534 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Homestead, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Homestead and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Florida City (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Homestead workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homestead | – | C+ | A− | 36 min | $65,423 |
| Florida City | 2% | C− | A | 36 min | $47,482 |
| Leisure City | under 2% | C | A− | 34 min | $41,977 |
| Homestead Base | under 2% | C− | — | 15 min | $7,969 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Homestead’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 Homestead: questions
What is the median household income in Homestead?
$65,423 (±$3,803) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Homestead?
18.4%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Homestead?
36 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Homestead work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Miami (14%, 26 mi), Kendall (4%, 15 mi), Doral (3%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Homestead walkable?
Homestead is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Homestead without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Homestead, from the people who make the trip.
More of Homestead
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.