GPS-Verified Residential Locations of ~46,000 Health District Workers*
An empirical study of where Miami Health District employees live, how far they commute, and what this means for proximate housing demand.
Using anonymized mobile device GPS data, this study tracked 46,000 estimated workers in the Miami Health District and matched each to a residential nighttime location, characterizing commute patterns across the full workforce.*
Commute distances measured as straight-line distance from each worker's nighttime residential centroid to the Health District center. Counts scaled to estimated 46,000-worker population.*
Based on a blended urban average speed of 22 mph urban blended average. Peak estimates assume 1.7x congestion multiplier consistent with Miami-Dade corridor data.
| Percentile | Off-Peak (minutes) | Peak Hours (minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Median (50th) | 12 | 20 |
| 75th Percentile | 26 | 44 |
| 90th Percentile | 35 | 58 |
Workers segmented by cardinal direction from the Health District center. Counts scaled to estimated workforce.* The western corridor bears the heaviest commuter load through Miami's most congested arterials.
Explore the spatial distribution of Health District worker residences and directional commuter patterns.
Housing gap: Nearly half of Health District workers (47%) commute from beyond 5 miles, indicating they cannot find -- or cannot afford -- housing proximate to their workplace.
Western corridor burden: The western quadrant carries the heaviest commuter load with a 7.7-mile median distance, routing through Miami's most congestion-prone arterials (SR-836, NW 7th Street).
Eastern proximity captured: The eastern quadrant shows a sub-1-mile median distance, confirming that workers who can live nearby do -- validating proximity as a powerful residential attractor.
Long-distance commuters: One in four workers (23.3%) drives more than 10 miles each way, translating to nearly an hour of round-trip commute time during peak congestion.
Proven demand pool: An estimated 21,620 workers commuting 5+ miles represent a quantifiable, GPS-verified demand pool for workforce-proximate housing within walking or short-transit distance of the Health District.
The commuter analysis establishes a data-driven foundation for workforce housing demand at the Highland Park Campus site. Key investment considerations:
Census ACS 5-year block group data provides probability-weighted demographic segmentation of the commuter population. Each worker is weighted by the demographic probability of their home block group.
The intersection of age 28-40 and income $80K-$200K defines the ideal workforce housing renter. This cohort has a median commute of 5.07 mi — longer than the young professional average (3.55 mi) and shorter than the income cohort (6.76 mi). 50.3% live beyond 5 miles, with the west quadrant bearing 32.8% of this demand.
The income $80K-$200K cohort lives significantly farther from the Health District (median 6.76 mi vs 4.42 mi overall), reflecting suburban housing preferences. This cohort represents the highest-value capture opportunity for proximity housing.
Block group-level demographic probability distributions across the Miami-Dade commuter shed.
Data Source: Anonymized mobile device GPS observations collected within the Miami Health District boundary during standard working hours.
Sample: 6,844 unique mobile devices were observed in the Health District and matched to residential nighttime locations, representing a 15% sample of the estimated 46,000-worker population. All worker counts in this report are scaled 6.7x to reflect the full workforce.*