Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainFewer people are out of work in Ord (0.5%) than in 97% of U.S. towns
Ord grades C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Measured by household income, Ord is behind 77% of U.S. towns. About half stay in Ord for work; outside it, Ord Township is the main destination (5%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Ord: the gist
Commutes from Ord are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 19 across Nebraska. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Nebraska worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Ord workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 11% across Nebraska. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Ord’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ord is better than 39% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Ord’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ord could be anywhere from C to B−.
The trip to work from Ord: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ord workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,004 commuters (the 4% 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.
The commute from Ord, by distance
About 30% 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.
Ord by day and by night
On a workday 542 residents head out to work, 459 work right here, and 669 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 per resident).
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 Ord goes to work
Where Ord clocks in
5% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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 kinds of work in Ord
1,128 jobs are based in Ord.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ord, 2013 → 2023: 1,114 → 1,128. 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 Ord’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Ord: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ord is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Ord near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,043 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). 5.9% of Ord households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ord’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ord next to U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900: 2,887th of 5,404 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 333 | Beaver Lake NE | 2,114 | $122K | 1.7% | 3.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 350 | Township 7 NE | 2,760 | $93K | 5.3% | 0.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 492 | Bennington NE | 1,968 | $98K | 5.3% | 3.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,885 | West Franklin Township PA | 1,655 | $68K | 8.7% | 2.4% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,886 | Pike Township PA | 2,273 | $84K | 9.7% | 2.4% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,887 | Ord NE | 2,121 | $58K | 11.1% | 0.5% | 46% | C+ |
| 2,888 | Burnham PA | 1,970 | $68K | 8.6% | 1.8% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,889 | Stonewood WV | 1,743 | $55K | 8.0% | 9.8% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Ord, 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 Ord: questions
What is the median household income in Ord?
$57,818 (±$4,975) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ord?
11.1%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ord?
14 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ord work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ord Township (5%, 2 mi), Burwell (4%, 17 mi), Lincoln (4%, 129 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ord walkable?
Ord is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ord without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ord, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ord
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.