Photo: Averette · CC BY 3.0There are 1.8 jobs in Miami for every working resident, and 248,702 people commute in
Miami grades C+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. 306,106 jobs are based in Miami; 167,837 of its residents have a job. About one in three stay in Miami for work; outside it, Coral Gables is the main destination (6%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Miami apart on work
Most Miami residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Miami is where the jobs are
Miami has 306,106 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Miami draws workers from far and wide
The 306,106 jobs in Miami are filled from a wide area. Miami’s own residents hold 19% and the ten next-biggest home towns 22%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
The figures behind Miami’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Miami is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #402 of 638 in Florida. Job access by car holds Miami’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Miami could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Miami
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.
How a workday changes Miami
On a workday 110,433 residents head out to work and 57,404 work right here.
About 628,000 people are in Miami on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
1.8 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.
The daily trip into Miami
Where Miami clocks in
6% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Miami, 2013 → 2023: 247,090 → 306,106. 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 Miami’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Miami spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Miami workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 205,884 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.
Miami is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Miami is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #4 of 638 in Florida. Both inputs place Miami 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 245,180 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 76% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 31.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 17.9% of Miami households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Miami’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Out of 31 U.S. towns of 343,000 to 661,000, Miami comes 20th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brookhaven NY | 496,410 | $120K | 7.0% | 5.2% | 32% | A− |
| 2 | Virginia Beach VA | 453,737 | $93K | 8.6% | 4.0% | 47% | A− |
| 3 | Mesa AZ | 513,656 | $83K | 10.3% | 4.2% | 24% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Tampa FL | 413,554 | $75K | 15.5% | 4.9% | 42% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Minneapolis MN | 430,324 | $81K | 16.0% | 5.9% | 41% | B− |
| 19 | Albuquerque NM | 556,588 | $68K | 15.5% | 5.4% | 72% | C+ |
| 20 | Miami FL | 489,812 | $62K | 19.4% | 5.2% | 34% | C+ |
| 21 | Bakersfield CA | 422,165 | $81K | 16.3% | 7.0% | 47% | C+ |
| 22 | Wichita KS | 400,987 | $65K | 15.9% | 5.6% | 67% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Detroit MI | 649,095 | $40K | 32.7% | 14.0% | 31% | C− |
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 Miami, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
11% of Miami works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Miami workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | – | C+ | A+ | 27 min | $62,462 |
| Coral Gables | 6% | A | A+ | 24 min | $134,216 |
| El Portal | under 1% | A | B+ | 25 min | $108,167 |
| West Little River | under 1% | C | A+ | 31 min | $56,436 |
| Miami Beach | 5% | B | A+ | 27 min | $72,856 |
| Gladeview | under 1% | C | A+ | 28 min | $47,469 |
| Fisher Island | under 1% | A+ | B− | — | $250,000+ |
| Brownsville | under 1% | C− | A+ | 31 min | $40,795 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Coral Gables. Darker towns draw more of Miami’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 Miami: questions
What is the median household income in Miami?
$62,462 (±$1,757) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Miami?
19.4%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Miami?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Miami work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Coral Gables (6%, 8 mi), Miami Beach (5%, 5 mi), Doral (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Miami walkable?
Miami is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.2 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Miami without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. 76% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Miami, from the people who make the trip.
More of Miami
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.