Photo: Nyttend · Public domainUnemployment in Arcanum (1.0%) is lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 73% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Arcanum is better than 60% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (C). Only 4% stay in Arcanum for work; outside it, Greenville is the main destination (12%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Arcanum
Fewer jobs are based in Arcanum than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Arcanum fell from 968 in 2013 to 325 in 2023, −66%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Arcanum workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 23 across Ohio. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Arcanum is a place people come home to
There are 325 jobs based in Arcanum, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Arcanum has about 1,500 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Arcanum
60% of Arcanum residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Arcanum pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Arcanum pay little
26% of the jobs based in Arcanum pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
What’s behind Arcanum’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Arcanum’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($60,481, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Arcanum could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
What Arcanum’s employers do
325 jobs are based in Arcanum.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arcanum, 2013 → 2023: 968 → 325. 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 Arcanum’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Arcanum’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arcanum workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,175 commuters (the 8% 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 many people are in Arcanum by day
On a workday 1,056 residents head out to work, 49 work right here, and 276 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Arcanum on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.29 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.
Where the trip to work from Arcanum ends
Where Arcanum clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
Miles to work from Arcanum
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 Arcanum, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.7% across Ohio.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,272 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). 3.3% of Arcanum households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Arcanum’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Arcanum ranks: 1,753rd of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | New California OH | 1,672 | $162K | 0.0% | 1.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,751 | Summerdale AL | 1,724 | $70K | 3.8% | 0.4% | 4% | B |
| 1,752 | Holmes Beach FL | 3,027 | $88K | 7.7% | 5.6% | 12% | B |
| 1,753 | Arcanum OH | 2,327 | $60K | 10.0% | 1.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,754 | Walnutport PA | 2,097 | $76K | 15.9% | 2.5% | 3% | B |
| 1,755 | Delaware Township KS | 1,785 | $66K | 4.5% | 2.0% | 12% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | 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 Arcanum, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
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 Arcanum: questions
What is the median household income in Arcanum?
$60,481 (±$15,811) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arcanum?
10.0%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arcanum?
31 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arcanum work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (12%, 8 mi), Dayton (9%, 24 mi), Troy (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arcanum walkable?
Arcanum is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arcanum without a car?
0% 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 Arcanum, from the people who make the trip.
More of Arcanum
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.