Ludlow Theater, The · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Ludlow earn less than those in 66% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 24.4% of residents, where Kentucky as a whole has 16.1%. Ludlow grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 4.7 in Louisville.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Ludlow
Jobs in Ludlow have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Ludlow went from 574 in 2013 to 1,521 in 2023, +165%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
68% of the jobs in Ludlow are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Most Ludlow residents work close to home
70% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Ludlow and Cincinnati trade workers both ways
Cincinnati is the top workplace for Ludlow residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Ludlow come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Ludlow pay better than its residents’ jobs
77% of the jobs based in Ludlow pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 61% of the jobs Ludlow residents hold. 94% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Ludlow. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Ludlow’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ludlow is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #65 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Ludlow’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ludlow could be anywhere from C− to B+.
77% of the jobs in Ludlow pay over $3,333 a month
1,521 jobs are based in Ludlow.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ludlow, 2013 → 2023: 574 → 1,521. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ludlow’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Ludlow goes to work
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
17% of working residents work in Cincinnati
Where Ludlow clocks in
17% of workers
9% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The workday shuffle in and out of Ludlow
On a workday 2,019 residents head out to work, 88 work right here, and 1,433 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,800 people are in Ludlow on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.72 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Ludlow
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ludlow workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,881 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Ludlow
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ludlow is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #12 of 142 in Kentucky. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above the 3.1% across Kentucky.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,151 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 96% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 19.3% of Ludlow households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ludlow’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,908 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 5,900, Ludlow comes 2,321st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Buckner KY | 4,119 | $164K | 0.1% | 2.1% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 288 | Prospect KY | 4,705 | $163K | 2.4% | 4.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 388 | Hurstbourne KY | 4,787 | $116K | 5.5% | 3.6% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,319 | Meiners Oaks CA | 3,934 | $70K | 14.6% | 2.9% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,320 | Delshire OH | 3,907 | $91K | 17.4% | 7.7% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,321 | Ludlow KY | 4,391 | $65K | 24.4% | 4.2% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,322 | Greenfield Township PA | 3,688 | $61K | 14.3% | 2.3% | 22% | C+ |
| 2,323 | Fallowfield Township PA | 4,041 | $67K | 9.1% | 6.2% | 7% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,908 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ludlow, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
26% of Ludlow works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Cincinnati (17%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Ludlow’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ludlow: questions
What is the median household income in Ludlow?
$65,284 (±$10,110) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ludlow?
24.4%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ludlow?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ludlow work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (17%, 4 mi), Covington (9%, 4 mi), Florence (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ludlow walkable?
Ludlow is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ludlow without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 96% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ludlow, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ludlow
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.