College students make up 63% of University’s residents
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 8.0 in Orlando. The two grades for University are C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Measured by family income, University is behind 81% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in University: the gist
University is where the jobs are
University has 37,413 jobs, 3.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 67,000 people are in town, 59% more than the 42,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
University draws workers from far and wide
The 37,413 jobs in University are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 27%; the other 70% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The jobs in University pay better than its residents’ jobs
72% of the jobs based in University pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 49% of the jobs University residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside University. The jobs ↓
A young workforce
36% of University’s working residents are 29 or younger, about one in three. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in University is services
92% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for University
On family income, poverty and job access, University is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #435 of 638 in Florida. Job access by car holds University’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); family income pulls it down ($69,717, U.S. $99,999).
Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (26% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 16.4%, against 27.0% for all residents. Unemployment (8.4%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($69,717), since student households pull the household median down ($59,852).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, University could be anywhere from C− to B+.
How a workday changes University
On a workday 11,568 residents head out to work, 1,117 work right here, and 36,296 people come in from elsewhere.
About 67,000 people are in University on a workday afternoon, 59% more than live here.
2.9 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 University
Where University clocks in
19% of workers
3% 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.
Most jobs in University are in services
37,413 jobs are based in University.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in University, 2013 → 2023: 27,890 → 37,413. 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 University’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From University, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of University workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,403 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.
Half of University commutes less than 16 miles
About 29% 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.
University 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, University is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #108 of 638 in Florida. Both inputs place University 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 13,608 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 45% 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 3.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 6.9% of University households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of University’s commuters take a bus or train.
851st of 1,054: where University ranks among U.S. towns of 29,000 to 57,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Parkland FL | 39,186 | $199K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Fruit Cove FL | 35,877 | $142K | 2.7% | 2.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Cooper City FL | 35,030 | $132K | 5.0% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 849 | Norristown PA | 35,911 | $67K | 18.5% | 7.2% | 6% | C+ |
| 850 | Bowling Green OH | 31,182 | $45K | 28.6% | 5.7% | 34% | C+ |
| 851 | University FL | 41,902 | $60K | 27.0% | 8.4% | 9% | C+ |
| 852 | Foothill Farms CA | 36,435 | $68K | 17.6% | 7.1% | 3% | C+ |
| 853 | Cape Girardeau MO | 40,977 | $56K | 20.8% | 2.6% | 47% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,054 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 University, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Work in the towns next to University
The biggest share goes to Alafaya (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | University workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University | – | C+ | A | 24 min | $59,852 |
| Alafaya | 3% | B+ | B− | 31 min | $100,950 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of University’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.
- Students. 63% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in University: questions
What is the median household income in University?
$59,852 (±$6,825) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in University?
27.0% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 16.4%. Florida: 12.6%.
How long is the commute from University?
24 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in University work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Orlando (19%, 11 mi), Alafaya (3%, 4 mi), Tampa (3%, 89 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is University walkable?
University is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around University without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from University, from the people who make the trip.
More of University
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.