Work & commute · Highland

Work & commute in Highland, FL

Most working residents leave Highland for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Lakeland (27%), Bartow (11%) and Tampa (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

157 of 6,003 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,846 Highland residents head out of town to work, 157 work right here, and 1,519 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Highland.

5,846live here, work elsewhere

157live and work here

1,519work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Highland goes to work

Lakeland7.9 mi away

27%1,608

Bartow6.3 mi away

11%666

Tampa36.4 mi away

4%246

Winter Haven10.6 mi away

3%192

Highland City (in town)right here

3%157

Plant City15 mi away

2%145

Orlando48.8 mi away

2%127

East Lake-Orient Park29.8 mi away

1%74

Brandon25.7 mi away

1%64

Jacksonville164.4 mi away

1%62

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%2,662

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

How far

How far Highland commutes

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

49%

15%

17%

19%

49%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Highland is a commuter town

0.28jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.28 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Highland are

1,676 jobs are based in Highland. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Highland’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Highland

1,676 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities37%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Highland residents hold

6,003 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+63%

Jobs based in Highland, 2013 → 2023: 1,026 → 1,676. 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.