Barnes Oil Company · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Ashland has lower unemployment (2.9%) than 71% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Ashland itself; outside it, Omaha draws the most (30%, 23 miles). Jobs and income earn Ashland A; getting around on foot earns it A−. Working residents average 27 minutes each way; Nebraska averages 19, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Ashland stands out on work
Ashland workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 19 across Nebraska. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Ashland has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Ashland went from 575 in 2013 to 868 in 2023, +51%. The jobs ↓
30% of Ashland works in Omaha
424 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Omaha, 23 miles away. That’s more than work in Ashland itself. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Ashland’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ashland is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #12 of 57 in Nebraska. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.3%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($89,408, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ashland could be anywhere from B to A+.
Time on the road from Ashland: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ashland workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,475 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Nebraska: 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.
What the 868 jobs in Ashland are
868 jobs are based in Ashland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ashland, 2013 → 2023: 575 → 868. 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 Ashland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Ashland goes to work
Where Ashland clocks in
30% of workers
21% of workers
3% 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.
How a workday changes Ashland
On a workday 1,201 residents head out to work, 226 work right here, and 642 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Ashland on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.61 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.
Half of Ashland commutes less than 20 miles
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.
In Ashland, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ashland is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #15 of 57 in Nebraska. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.5% across Nebraska, on an EPA index of 7.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,632 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.1% of Ashland households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Ashland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ashland is 602nd among 4,535 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Waverly NE | 4,533 | $112K | 0.5% | 0.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 211 | Township 2 NE | 3,213 | $116K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 321 | Valley NE | 3,412 | $110K | 5.3% | 2.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 600 | Madison Township OH | 3,444 | $87K | 6.6% | 0.0% | 2% | A |
| 601 | Potosi TX | 4,322 | $122K | 2.5% | 3.3% | <1% | A |
| 602 | Ashland NE | 3,483 | $89K | 4.3% | 2.9% | 16% | A |
| 603 | Sellersville PA | 4,501 | $95K | 7.8% | 2.6% | 2% | A |
| 604 | Thorncreek Township IN | 4,272 | $113K | 4.8% | 2.7% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Ashland, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
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 Ashland: questions
What is the median household income in Ashland?
$89,408 (±$7,508) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ashland?
4.3%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ashland?
27 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ashland work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Omaha (30%, 23 mi), Lincoln (21%, 22 mi), Gretna (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ashland walkable?
Ashland is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ashland without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ashland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ashland
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.