Work & commute · Lakeland

Work & commute in Lakeland, GA

Most working residents leave Lakeland for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Valdosta (23%), Nashville (5%) and Tifton (2%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

126 of 856 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 730 Lakeland residents head out of town to work, 126 work right here, and 580 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lakeland.

730live here, work elsewhere

126live and work here

580work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lakeland goes to work

Valdosta17.9 mi away

23%193

Lakeland (in town)right here

15%126

Nashville15.3 mi away

5%42

Tifton39.2 mi away

2%16

Atlanta203.8 mi away

2%14

Homerville19.7 mi away

1%12

Douglas34.7 mi away

1%11

Thomasville55.4 mi away

1%10

Moultrie43.4 mi away

1%8

Macon-Bibb County127.5 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%416

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.

20%

41%

11%

28%

20%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lakeland is balanced between jobs and homes

0.82jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lakeland are

706 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

706 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month37%

Jobs Lakeland residents hold

856 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month41%

−34%

Jobs based in Lakeland, 2013 → 2023: 1,075 → 706. 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.