Work & commute · Lakeland

Work & commute in Lakeland, FL

About one in 3 of Lakeland’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Bartow (6%), Tampa (5%) and Plant City (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

15,205 of 48,153 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 32,948 Lakeland residents head out of town to work, 15,205 work right here, and 87,102 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lakeland.

32,948live here, work elsewhere

15,205live and work here

87,102work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lakeland goes to work

Lakeland (in town)right here

32%15,205

Bartow14.2 mi away

6%3,008

Tampa32.3 mi away

5%2,258

Plant City10.3 mi away

3%1,384

Orlando48.1 mi away

2%1,156

Winter Haven13.6 mi away

2%1,022

Brandon22.6 mi away

1%644

East Lake-Orient Park25.2 mi away

1%635

Jacksonville158.5 mi away

1%624

Auburndale10.3 mi away

1%510

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%21,707

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

How far

How far Lakeland commutes

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

42%

18%

20%

19%

42%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lakeland is a job hub

2.12jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Lakeland are

102,307 jobs are based in Lakeland. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lakeland’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lakeland

102,307 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Lakeland residents hold

48,153 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+45%

Jobs based in Lakeland, 2013 → 2023: 70,790 → 102,307. 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.