Photo: Brandon Bisel · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Akron earn less than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Akron grades C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Poverty touches 23.3% of residents, against 13.3% across Ohio. About one in three stay in Akron for work; outside it, Cuyahoga Falls is the main destination (6%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Akron’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Akron is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #880 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Akron’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Akron stays C−.
In and out of Akron on a workday
On a workday 52,324 residents head out to work, 23,523 work right here, and 70,406 people come in from elsewhere.
About 208,000 people are in Akron on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 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 people from Akron work
Where Akron clocks in
6% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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.
What Akron’s employers do
93,929 jobs are based in Akron.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Akron, 2013 → 2023: 95,035 → 93,929. 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 Akron’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Akron: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Akron workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 77,125 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Ohio: 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 far Akron goes to work
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.
Akron is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Akron is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #115 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Akron 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 86,811 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 1% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% 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). 14.2% of Akron households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Akron’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
U.S. towns of 133,000 to 256,000, and where Akron sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 3 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Fayetteville NC | 209,120 | $58K | 17.7% | 7.9% | 43% | C− |
| 138 | Rockford IL | 147,384 | $55K | 21.3% | 8.5% | 45% | C− |
| 139 | Akron OH | 189,691 | $48K | 23.3% | 7.8% | 31% | C− |
| 140 | Springfield MA | 154,702 | $53K | 25.8% | 8.7% | 37% | C− |
| 141 | Rochester NY | 206,108 | $47K | 27.8% | 7.9% | 42% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Dayton OH | 136,688 | $45K | 26.9% | 9.0% | 27% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 150 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Akron, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Next door to Akron
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Akron workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | – | C− | A− | 22 min | $48,076 |
| Cuyahoga Falls | 6% | B+ | B− | 22 min | $72,705 |
| Coventry Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 21 min | $74,346 |
| Springfield Township | under 2% | B− | C | 24 min | $66,282 |
| Fairlawn | 2% | A | B− | 22 min | $97,055 |
| Bath Township | under 2% | A | C+ | 34 min | $167,699 |
| Portage Lakes | under 2% | C+ | C | 21 min | $64,375 |
| Copley Township | under 2% | A | C | 22 min | $115,338 |
| Montrose-Ghent | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 40 min | $180,250 |
| Barberton | under 2% | C+ | B+ | 22 min | $52,267 |
| Sawyerwood | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 19 min | $51,731 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Cuyahoga Falls. Darker towns draw more of Akron’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 Akron: questions
What is the median household income in Akron?
$48,076 (±$1,702) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Akron?
23.3%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Akron?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Akron work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cuyahoga Falls (6%, 7 mi), Cleveland (4%, 29 mi), Fairlawn (2%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Akron walkable?
Akron is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Akron without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Akron, from the people who make the trip.
More of Akron
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.