Jay has 2.3 jobs for every working resident: 489 people commute in to work
Working residents average 38 minutes each way (Florida 28, U.S. 26). Only 4% work in Jay; the top destination outside it is Pensacola (13%, 35 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Jay
Jay’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Jay is Pensacola, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (29) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Jay workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 28 across Florida. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Jay workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Florida. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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; with 218 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Half of Jay commutes less than 30 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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.
About 38 minutes each way, longer than most of Florida
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jay workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 269 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Florida: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Jay fills up on a workday
On a workday 209 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 489 people come in from elsewhere.
About 870 people are in Jay on a workday afternoon, 47% more than live here.
2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 Jay’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Jay clocks in
13% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 498 jobs in Jay are
498 jobs are based in Jay. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Jay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jay, 2013 → 2023: 442 → 498. 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.
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 Jay: questions
What is the median household income in Jay?
$48,359 (±$20,763) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jay?
26.6%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jay?
38 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jay work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pensacola (13%, 35 mi), Milton (11%, 23 mi), Pace (6%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Jay without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jay
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.