Southchase has higher unemployment (6.1%) than 75% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Southchase B; getting around on foot earns it A. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 8.0 in Orlando. Only 2% work in Southchase; the top destination outside it is Orlando (25%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Southchase, in a few figures
Stores, warehouses and trucking
54% of the jobs in Southchase are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Southchase draws workers from far and wide
The 6,755 jobs in Southchase are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 26%; the other 71% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Southchase has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Southchase went from 3,999 in 2013 to 6,755 in 2023, +69%. The jobs ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Southchase
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Southchase is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #264 of 638 in Florida. Job access by car holds Southchase’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Southchase could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The kinds of work in Southchase
6,755 jobs are based in Southchase.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Southchase, 2013 → 2023: 3,999 → 6,755. 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 Southchase’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Southchase work
Where Southchase clocks in
25% of workers
7% of workers
2% 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.
A workday in Southchase: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 7,912 residents head out to work, 173 work right here, and 6,582 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Southchase on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 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.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Southchase
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Southchase workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,259 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.
How many miles Southchase commutes
About 17% 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.
Southchase is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Southchase is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #152 of 638 in Florida. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% 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 7,110 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, 58% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 1.2% of Southchase households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Southchase’s commuters take a bus or train.
Southchase is 1,203rd of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Pinecrest FL | 18,635 | $206K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Lake Butler FL | 17,125 | $183K | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 179 | Lake Mary FL | 16,789 | $109K | 3.5% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,201 | Flowood MS | 11,003 | $84K | 13.4% | 4.1% | 15% | B |
| 1,202 | Ridgefield Park NJ | 13,372 | $101K | 11.9% | 9.9% | 7% | B |
| 1,203 | Southchase FL | 13,981 | $92K | 11.9% | 6.1% | 2% | B |
| 1,204 | Kapaa HI | 11,094 | $89K | 7.5% | 2.3% | 11% | B |
| 1,205 | Plano IL | 12,677 | $86K | 10.2% | 4.8% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Southchase, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
How Southchase compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Hunters Creek (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Southchase workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southchase | – | B | A | 27 min | $92,431 |
| Meadow Woods | under 1% | B+ | A− | 35 min | $82,744 |
| Hunters Creek | 1% | A− | A− | 28 min | $99,195 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Southchase’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 Southchase: questions
What is the median household income in Southchase?
$92,431 (±$12,735) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Southchase?
11.9%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Southchase?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Southchase work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Orlando (25%, 8 mi), Lake Buena Vista (7%, 8 mi), Kissimmee (2%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Southchase walkable?
Southchase is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Southchase without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 58% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Southchase, from the people who make the trip.
More of Southchase
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.