{"id":40712,"date":"2025-11-10T11:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/40712\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T11:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:15:10","slug":"treasure-coast-residents-face-long-commutes-as-housing-growth-outpaces-higher-paying-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/40712\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasure Coast residents face long commutes as housing growth outpaces higher-paying jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla (CBS12) \u2014 The Treasure Coast is experiencing a surge in residential development, with new homes and neighborhoods appearing across the region. Yet, despite the rapid growth in housing, many residents say the job market has not kept pace \u2014 forcing thousands to commute long distances each day for work.<\/p>\n

While St. Lucie County offers affordable living and spacious homes, residents report that higher-paying jobs remain concentrated in areas farther south, such as Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Shiner, a Tradition resident and client relations manager at a West Palm Beach law firm, travels 55 miles each way to her office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do it because I love the firm where I work,\u201d Shiner said. \u201cThere are good jobs in St. Lucie and Martin Counties, but the higher pay and larger firms are in Palm Beach County.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Benjamin<\/p>\n

Benjamin Salas, a Port St. Lucie resident and executive coach, speaks with CBS12 News Luli Ortiz about his frequent commutes to Miami for work. \u201cI usually travel at least two or three times a week,\u201d Salas said, highlighting the challenges many Treasure Coast professionals face in finding high-paying jobs close to home. (WPEC)<\/p>\n

Executive coach Benjamin Salas, who resides in Port St. Lucie, frequently drives to Miami for work \u2014 a trip that can take up to three hours depending on traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife used to drive three days a week to Deerfield, but now she\u2019s fully remote,\u201d Salas said. \u201cIf you\u2019ve got kids in school, you\u2019ve got to factor that in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amanda McFarland, also of Port St. Lucie, commutes daily to Palm Beach County and has already logged 20,000 miles on her vehicle since January.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a group chat called Traffic Alert,\u201d McFarland said. \u201cWe give each other a heads-up every day when we\u2019re heading out to work and when we\u2019re coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer<\/p>\n

Jennifer Shiner, a Tradition resident, stands with CBS12 News Luli Ortiz during an interview about her daily 55-mile commute to West Palm Beach. \u201cI do it because I love the firm where I work,\u201d she said, reflecting on the limited high-paying job options in St. Lucie County. (WPEC)<\/p>\n

Michael Sostre travels from Port St. Lucie to the VA Hospital in Riviera Beach. He says the drive, which averages 45\u201350 minutes each way, is beginning to wear on him.<\/p>\n

Carlos Nanni, a longtime Fort Pierce resident, believes the region lacks sustainable employment options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe median household income on the Treasure Coast is $88,000; in Palm Beach, it\u2019s $120,000,\u201d Nanni said. \u201cAll you have are vape shops, nail salons, and restaurants \u2014 those are entry-level positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Florida Department of Commerce, 63% of St. Lucie County\u2019s workforce \u2014 approximately 75,000 people \u2014 commute out of the area for employment.<\/p>\n

\"According<\/p>\n

According to the Florida Department of Commerce, 63% of St. Lucie County\u2019s workforce \u2014 approximately 75,000 people \u2014 commute out of the area for employment. (WPEC)<\/p>\n

To help alleviate the burden, Palm Tran and FDOT have introduced the Port St. Lucie Express, a weekday bus service to West Palm Beach with fares starting at $3.<\/p>\n

Salas believes the solution lies in fostering stronger local business connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have local talent and businesses right here,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we came to the table more and figured out how to serve one another, we could keep business here in the county.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CBS12 News I-Team will continue this investigation Thursday, pressing local leaders on what\u2019s holding business back \u2014 and what it will take to bring higher-paying jobs home to St. Lucie County.<\/p>\n

Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter<\/a> to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel<\/a> for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla (CBS12) \u2014 The Treasure Coast is experiencing a surge in residential development, with new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-40712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-port-st-lucie","9":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}