Work & commute · Willow Oak

Work & commute in Willow Oak, FL

Most working residents leave Willow Oak for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Lakeland (20%), Bartow (7%) and Plant City (6%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22 of 2,761 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 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 2,739 Willow Oak residents head out of town to work, 22 work right here, and 298 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Willow Oak.

2,739live here, work elsewhere

22live and work here

298work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Willow Oak goes to work

Lakeland10.2 mi away

20%552

Bartow12.6 mi away

7%195

Plant City8.6 mi away

6%171

Tampa27.7 mi away

5%135

Orlando57.2 mi away

3%71

Winter Haven19.7 mi away

2%54

Mulberry2.5 mi away

2%43

East Lake-Orient Park21.5 mi away

1%40

Brandon16.8 mi away

1%39

Lakeland Highlands5.2 mi away

1%37

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%1,424

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

How far

How far Willow Oak commutes

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

34%

27%

17%

22%

34%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Willow Oak is a commuter town

0.12jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Willow Oak are

320 jobs are based in Willow Oak. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Willow Oak’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Willow Oak

320 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Willow Oak residents hold

2,761 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+33%

Jobs based in Willow Oak, 2013 → 2023: 241 → 320. 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.