Work & commute · Ocean

Work & commute in Ocean, FL

Most working residents leave Ocean for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Walton Beach (20%), Wright (9%) and Destin (8%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

118 of 2,508 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,390 Ocean residents head out of town to work, 118 work right here, and 1,677 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ocean.

2,390live here, work elsewhere

118live and work here

1,677work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ocean goes to work

Fort Walton Beach1.3 mi away

20%505

Wright2.1 mi away

9%228

Destin8.7 mi away

8%201

Ocean City (in town)right here

5%118

Miramar Beach16.1 mi away

4%110

Niceville9.9 mi away

3%84

Pensacola34.8 mi away

3%76

Crestview21.4 mi away

3%63

Valparaiso6.5 mi away

2%44

Tallahassee140.3 mi away

2%39

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%1,040

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

How far

How far Ocean commutes

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

54%

16%

14%

16%

54%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ocean is a commuter town

0.72jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Ocean are

1,795 jobs are based in Ocean. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ocean’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ocean

1,795 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Ocean residents hold

2,508 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month46%

+13%

Jobs based in Ocean, 2013 → 2023: 1,594 → 1,795. 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.