Photo: Radomianin · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Key West (2.2%) is lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
About two in three stay in Key West for work; outside it, Stock Island is the main destination (2%, 2 miles). Key West grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 31.0 in Miami.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Key West stands out on work
Commutes from Key West are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 28 across Florida. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Florida worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Key West go to people who live here
Of the 16,814 jobs based in Key West, 48% are held by Key West residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Key West’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Key West is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #228 of 638 in Florida. Unemployment holds Key West’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Key West could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Time on the road from Key West: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Key West workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,009 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.
In and out of Key West on a workday
On a workday 4,276 residents head out to work, 8,007 work right here, and 8,807 people come in from elsewhere.
About 30,000 people are in Key West on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 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 Key West goes to work
Where Key West clocks in
1% of workers
1% 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.
Key West is a services town
16,814 jobs are based in Key West.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Key West, 2013 → 2023: 14,721 → 16,814. 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 Key West’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Key West to work
About 28% 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.
Key West is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Key West is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #3 of 638 in Florida. Both inputs place Key West 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 14,801 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 52% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 10.8% of Key West households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Key West’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Key West is 928th among 1,688 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 34,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Pinecrest FL | 18,635 | $206K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Lake Butler FL | 17,125 | $183K | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Palm Valley FL | 19,796 | $117K | 4.2% | 1.2% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 926 | Maple Shade Township NJ | 20,556 | $79K | 13.2% | 4.4% | 5% | B |
| 927 | Lebanon IN | 17,913 | $65K | 7.9% | 3.7% | 24% | B |
| 928 | Key West FL | 24,999 | $87K | 10.9% | 2.2% | 65% | B |
| 929 | Four Square Mile CO | 23,024 | $81K | 14.8% | 3.9% | 3% | B |
| 930 | Laurel VA | 18,721 | $74K | 8.4% | 5.0% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,688 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Key West, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
The towns around Key West
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Key West workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key West | – | B | A+ | 15 min | $87,037 |
| Stock Island | 2% | B− | A+ | 13 min | $65,515 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Stock Island. Darker towns draw more of Key West’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 Key West: questions
What is the median household income in Key West?
$87,037 (±$11,382) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Key West?
10.9%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Key West?
15 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Key West work?
65% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stock Island (2%, 2 mi), Miami (1%, 129 mi), Marathon (1%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Key West walkable?
Key West is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Key West without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Key West, from the people who make the trip.
More of Key West
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.