Photo: Sam Beebe Camera location43° 59′ 53.4″ N, 124° 05′ 43.8″ W View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap 43.998167; -124.095500 · CC BY 2.0Florence has lower household incomes than 84% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 0.3 in Eugene. Poverty touches 10.3% of residents, where Oregon as a whole has 11.9%. Jobs and income earn Florence D; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Florence, in a few figures
Florence’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Florence is Eugene, 49 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (247) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Florence are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 23 across Oregon. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oregon worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
36% 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 ↓
Florence has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Florence went from 2,681 in 2013 to 3,761 in 2023, +40%. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Florence
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Florence is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #122 of 142 in Oregon. The poverty rate holds Florence’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 9% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Florence could be anywhere from D to B−.
How far it is to work from Florence
About 36% 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.
Florence’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Florence workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,454 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 80% drive alone, 3% 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 3,761 jobs in Florence are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Florence, 2013 → 2023: 2,681 → 3,761. 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 Florence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Florence
On a workday 1,745 residents head out to work, 1,284 work right here, and 2,477 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 (1.24 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.
8% of working residents work in Eugene
Where Florence clocks in
8% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Florence
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Florence is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #28 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Florence 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 2,703 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 57% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 5.9% of Florence households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Florence’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Florence compares with U.S. towns of 6,600 to 12,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 173 | Bull Mountain OR | 9,865 | $165K | 4.7% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 205 | Oak Hills OR | 11,131 | $127K | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 404 | Damascus OR | 11,437 | $123K | 3.2% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,571 | Guadalupe CA | 8,846 | $67K | 27.7% | 14.4% | 7% | D |
| 2,572 | Brooksville FL | 10,145 | $55K | 19.7% | 7.3% | 15% | D |
| 2,573 | Florence OR | 9,468 | $53K | 10.3% | 6.6% | 42% | D |
| 2,574 | Albion NY | 7,546 | $50K | 17.7% | 6.9% | 19% | D |
| 2,575 | Hillsboro OH | 6,763 | $56K | 21.7% | 5.3% | 26% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,831 | 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 Florence, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Next door to Florence
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Florence workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florence | – | D | A+ | 15 min | $53,333 |
| Heceta Beach | under 2% | C− | D | 12 min | $79,938 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Florence’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 Florence: questions
What is the median household income in Florence?
$53,333 (±$7,931) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Florence?
10.3%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Florence?
15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Florence work?
42% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eugene (8%, 49 mi), Portland (5%, 128 mi), Salem (3%, 84 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Florence walkable?
Florence is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Florence without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 57% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Florence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Florence
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.