Households in Malabar earn more than those in 91% of U.S. towns
3.0% of residents are in poverty, next to 12.6% for Florida as a whole. Jobs and income earn Malabar A; getting around on foot earns it C. Only 3% stay in Malabar for work; outside it, Palm Bay is the main destination (22%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Malabar apart
Jobs in Malabar have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Malabar went from 362 in 2013 to 1,089 in 2023, +201%. The jobs ↓
Malabar makes and builds things
52% of the jobs based in Malabar are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Malabar residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 23%. The jobs ↓
Malabar and Palm Bay trade workers both ways
Palm Bay is the top workplace for Malabar residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Malabar come from (30% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Why Malabar gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Malabar is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #16 of 638 in Florida. Unemployment holds Malabar’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 48% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Malabar could be anywhere from A− to A+.
52% of the jobs in Malabar make or build things
1,089 jobs are based in Malabar.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Malabar, 2013 → 2023: 362 → 1,089. 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 Malabar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the trip to work from Malabar ends
Where Malabar clocks in
22% of workers
19% 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.
How a workday changes Malabar
On a workday 1,285 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 1,056 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 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.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Malabar
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Malabar workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,413 commuters (the 16% 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.
How many miles Malabar commutes
About 30% 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.
Getting around Malabar: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Malabar is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns, #546 of 638 in Florida. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 1,682 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). <1% 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 0.0% of Malabar households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Malabar’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Malabar is 224th of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Geneva FL | 3,441 | $133K | 0.6% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| 72 | Windermere FL | 3,344 | $178K | 1.3% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Pelican Marsh FL | 2,617 | $143K | 2.7% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 222 | Erin WI | 3,835 | $111K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 5% | A |
| 223 | Maple Heights-Lake Desire WA | 4,113 | $143K | 6.0% | 1.3% | 1% | A |
| 224 | Malabar FL | 3,175 | $129K | 3.0% | 0.0% | 3% | A |
| 225 | Hubbard OR | 3,399 | $102K | 3.6% | 1.6% | 3% | A |
| 226 | Sherwood WI | 3,311 | $110K | 4.3% | 0.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Malabar, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
The towns next door employ 24% of Malabar
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Malabar workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malabar | – | A | C | 26 min | $128,698 |
| Grant-Valkaria | 2% | A | D | 33 min | $119,583 |
| Palm Bay | 22% | C+ | B+ | 28 min | $72,614 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Palm Bay. Darker towns draw more of Malabar’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 Malabar: questions
What is the median household income in Malabar?
$128,698 (±$46,983) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Malabar?
3.0%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Malabar?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Malabar work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Palm Bay (22%, 6 mi), Melbourne (19%, 10 mi), Rockledge (5%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Malabar walkable?
Malabar is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Malabar without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Malabar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Malabar
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.