Work & commute · Gainesville

Work & commute in Gainesville, FL

53% of Gainesville’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Jacksonville (5%), Alachua (3%) and Tallahassee (1%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

53%

24,493 of 45,876 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 21,383 Gainesville residents head out of town to work, 24,493 work right here, and 67,930 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Gainesville.

21,383live here, work elsewhere

24,493live and work here

67,930work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Gainesville goes to work

Gainesville (in town)right here

53%24,493

Jacksonville61.1 mi away

5%2,071

Alachua10.8 mi away

3%1,153

Tallahassee125.9 mi away

1%661

Ocala36.6 mi away

1%635

Orlando103.8 mi away

1%588

Tampa118.5 mi away

1%545

Newberry15.1 mi away

1%488

Lake City39.4 mi away

1%232

St. Petersburg133.6 mi away

0%205

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%14,805

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Gainesville commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

63%

28%

63%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Gainesville is a job hub

2.01jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Gainesville are

92,423 jobs are based in Gainesville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gainesville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Gainesville

92,423 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Gainesville residents hold

45,876 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+13%

Jobs based in Gainesville, 2013 → 2023: 81,915 → 92,423. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.