Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBurlington has some of the lowest household incomes of any U.S. town
Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. The poverty rate is 13.6%, next to 13.3% for Ohio as a whole. Jobs and income earn Burlington C+; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Burlington
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Burlington is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #775 of 992 in Ohio. Unemployment holds Burlington’s grade up (0.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($31,058, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Burlington could be anywhere from C to B.
A workday in Burlington: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 820 residents head out to work, 49 work right here, and 913 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 (1.11 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.
26% of working residents work in Huntington
Where Burlington clocks in
26% 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.
Inside Burlington’s 962 jobs
962 jobs are based in Burlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 1,112 → 962. 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 Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Burlington spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burlington workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 945 commuters (the 14% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Burlington
About 28% 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.
Burlington is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Burlington is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns, #235 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 1,099 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). 12.5% of Burlington households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Burlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Burlington places 2,965th of 4,703 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,963 | Chamberlain SD | 2,453 | $77K | 12.1% | 3.2% | 38% | C+ |
| 2,964 | Wayne Township OH | 2,390 | $86K | 11.2% | 18.8% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,965 | Burlington OH | 2,807 | $31K | 13.6% | 0.7% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,966 | Port Vue PA | 3,519 | $58K | 10.1% | 11.1% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,967 | Seville Township MI | 2,104 | $76K | 10.1% | 5.6% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Burlington, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Next door is work for 30% of Burlington
The biggest share goes to Huntington (26%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | – | C+ | B+ | 22 min | $31,058 |
| South Point | 2% | B | B+ | 23 min | $80,341 |
| Union Township | 2% | C+ | C | 22 min | $58,311 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Burlington’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 Burlington: questions
What is the median household income in Burlington?
$31,058 (±$27,472) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burlington?
13.6%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burlington?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burlington work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Huntington (26%, 5 mi), Ashland (4%, 7 mi), Ironton (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burlington walkable?
Burlington is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burlington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burlington
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.