Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0Ruskin has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Ruskin report 6,067 jobs, and 15,254 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Ruskin are B− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 6% work in Ruskin itself; outside it, Tampa draws the most (20%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ruskin, in a few figures
Jobs in Ruskin have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Ruskin went from 2,583 in 2013 to 6,067 in 2023, +135%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
58% of the jobs in Ruskin are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Ruskin 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 ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Ruskin
56% of Ruskin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 36% of the jobs based in Ruskin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Ruskin empties out on a workday
About 21,000 people are in Ruskin on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 30,000 who live here: 14,000 head out to work and 5,200 come in. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Ruskin’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ruskin is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #302 of 638 in Florida. Job access by car holds Ruskin’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (10.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ruskin could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
What Ruskin’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ruskin, 2013 → 2023: 2,583 → 6,067. 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 Ruskin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 36 minutes to work from Ruskin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ruskin workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,581 commuters (the 18% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Ruskin
On a workday 14,342 residents head out to work, 912 work right here, and 5,155 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in Ruskin on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
Where the trip to work from Ruskin ends
Where Ruskin clocks in
20% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Where in the region Ruskin works
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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Ruskin gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ruskin is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns, #520 of 638 in Florida. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% 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 14,138 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 16% 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 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 3.9% of Ruskin households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ruskin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ruskin is 861st of 1,366 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Parkland FL | 39,186 | $199K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Jacksonville Beach FL | 23,615 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Palmetto Bay FL | 24,886 | $142K | 5.8% | 2.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 859 | Des Moines WA | 33,032 | $92K | 12.1% | 7.5% | 4% | B− |
| 860 | Cockeysville MD | 23,962 | $78K | 12.6% | 5.3% | 14% | B− |
| 861 | Ruskin FL | 29,834 | $79K | 10.8% | 4.5% | 6% | B− |
| 862 | Loma Linda CA | 25,221 | $82K | 12.3% | 6.2% | 20% | B− |
| 863 | Pemberton Township NJ | 27,611 | $81K | 8.4% | 6.6% | 9% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Ruskin, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Around Ruskin: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Sun City Center (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ruskin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruskin | – | B− | C+ | 36 min | $79,235 |
| Sun City Center | 3% | B+ | C− | 34 min | $73,528 |
| Apollo Beach | 3% | A− | B− | 35 min | $127,617 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ruskin’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 Ruskin: questions
What is the median household income in Ruskin?
$79,235 (±$9,765) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ruskin?
10.8%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ruskin?
36 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ruskin work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tampa (20%, 18 mi), St. Petersburg (5%, 14 mi), Brandon (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ruskin walkable?
Ruskin is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ruskin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ruskin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ruskin
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.