Unemployment in Westgate (7.7%) is higher than in 87% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Westgate is behind 86% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Westgate is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (A+). 4% of workers work from home, next to 16% for Florida as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Westgate, in brief
Westgate trades workers with the towns around it
Westgate has about as many jobs (2,745) as working residents (3,224), but they are mostly different people: 3,168 residents leave for work each day while 2,689 people come in. Only 2% of the jobs in Westgate are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Westgate are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Florida. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Florida worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Westgate workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Florida. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Westgate workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Westgate’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 14% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Westgate than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Westgate fell from 3,705 in 2013 to 2,745 in 2023, −26%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Inside Westgate’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Westgate’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (26.9%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westgate could be anywhere from C− to B−.
The daily commute in and out of Westgate
On a workday 3,168 residents head out to work, 56 work right here, and 2,689 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 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.
Commuting from Westgate: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westgate workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,886 commuters (the 4% 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.
What the 2,745 jobs in Westgate are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westgate, 2013 → 2023: 3,705 → 2,745. 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 Westgate’s own residents hold wherever they work.
18% of working residents work in West Palm Beach
Where Westgate clocks in
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.
Half of Westgate commutes less than 8 miles
About 18% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Westgate
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,034 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, 90% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 12.8% of Westgate households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Westgate’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Westgate ranks: 2,520th of 3,007 U.S. towns of 5,700 to 11,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Southwest Ranches FL | 7,773 | $161K | 3.8% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 180 | Neptune Beach FL | 7,020 | $119K | 3.1% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 338 | Westlake FL | 9,042 | $132K | 3.2% | 2.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,518 | Prosser WA | 6,654 | $77K | 16.8% | 8.0% | 22% | C− |
| 2,519 | Marion Township IN | 6,660 | $62K | 14.3% | 5.4% | 31% | C− |
| 2,520 | Westgate FL | 8,151 | $52K | 26.9% | 7.7% | 2% | C− |
| 2,521 | Bridge City LA | 7,297 | $57K | 24.1% | 13.3% | 1% | C− |
| 2,522 | Tarboro NC | 10,979 | $50K | 18.5% | 4.5% | 27% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,007 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Westgate, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Work in the towns next to Westgate
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Westgate’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 Westgate: questions
What is the median household income in Westgate?
$51,604 (±$5,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westgate?
26.9%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westgate?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westgate work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Palm Beach (18%, 4 mi), Palm Springs (5%, 4 mi), Palm Beach Gardens (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westgate walkable?
Westgate is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westgate without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 90% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westgate, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westgate
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.