Photo: Rowen Hansen · CC BY-SA 4.0Cleveland has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Employers in Cleveland report 90 jobs for 291 working residents. Hardly any work in Cleveland; the top destination outside it is Kansas City (22%, 31 miles). Commuters spend 30 minutes getting to work on average; the Missouri average is 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Cleveland: the gist
Cleveland’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Cleveland is Kansas City, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (63) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Cleveland workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 291 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far it is to work from Cleveland
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.
About 30 minutes to work from Cleveland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cleveland workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 443 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% 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.
How a workday changes Cleveland
On a workday 291 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 90 people come in from elsewhere.
About 450 people are in Cleveland on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Cleveland work
Where Cleveland clocks in
22% 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.
Goods jobs make up 78% of work in Cleveland
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cleveland, 2013 → 2023: 43 → 90. 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 Cleveland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Cleveland: questions
What is the median household income in Cleveland?
$86,493 (±$14,285) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cleveland?
5.0%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cleveland?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cleveland work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (22%, 31 mi), Lee's Summit (8%, 20 mi), Overland Park (7%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cleveland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cleveland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cleveland
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.