Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainWelaka has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Home is the office for 6% of workers, next to 16% for Florida as a whole. 120 jobs are based in Welaka for 280 working residents. Only 4% work in Welaka; the top destination outside it is Jacksonville (10%, 59 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Welaka: the gist
Welaka’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Welaka is Jacksonville, 59 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (27) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Welaka 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 ↓
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; with 280 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The commute from Welaka, by distance
About 31% 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.
Each way, about 36 minutes from Welaka
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Welaka workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 370 commuters (the 6% 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.
Welaka on a workday afternoon
On a workday 268 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 108 people come in from elsewhere.
About 630 people are in Welaka on a workday afternoon, 20% 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.
Out of Welaka to work: where people go
Where Welaka clocks in
10% of workers
8% 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.
Jobs in Welaka: what the 120 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Welaka, 2013 → 2023: 103 → 120. 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 Welaka’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Welaka: questions
What is the median household income in Welaka?
$54,830 (±$23,116) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Welaka?
27.1%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Welaka?
36 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Welaka work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jacksonville (10%, 59 mi), Palatka (8%, 11 mi), Gainesville (4%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Welaka without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 33% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Welaka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Welaka
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.