Photo: Nyttend · Public domainUnemployment in Coldwater (0.5%) is lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Coldwater is better than 77% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (B+). Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, where Ohio as a whole has 13%. About one in four stay in Coldwater for work; outside it, Celina is the main destination (11%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Coldwater apart
Commutes from Coldwater are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 23 across Ohio. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Ohio worker. Time on the road ↓
Coldwater makes and builds things
39% of the jobs based in Coldwater are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Coldwater residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 41%. The jobs ↓
Few Coldwater workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Coldwater: the grade in detail
Unemployment holds Coldwater’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($68,009, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Coldwater could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
Each way, about 16 minutes from Coldwater
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Coldwater workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,009 commuters (the 3% 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.
In Coldwater, 39% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
2,977 jobs are based in Coldwater.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Coldwater, 2013 → 2023: 2,491 → 2,977. 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 Coldwater’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Coldwater, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,818 residents head out to work, 619 work right here, and 2,358 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Coldwater on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 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 Coldwater work
Where Coldwater clocks in
11% of workers
5% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Coldwater
About 15% 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.
Most of Coldwater commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,064 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). 7.6% of Coldwater households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Coldwater’s commuters take a bus or train.
Coldwater is 925th of 3,867 U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | The Village of Indian Hill OH | 6,114 | $235K | 3.1% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | South Russell OH | 3,913 | $172K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Sharon Township OH | 6,117 | $126K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 923 | Salem Township PA | 6,006 | $80K | 6.5% | 2.1% | 8% | A− |
| 924 | Whispering Pines NC | 5,505 | $126K | 5.3% | 3.3% | 3% | A− |
| 925 | Coldwater OH | 4,716 | $68K | 2.4% | 0.5% | 25% | A− |
| 926 | Springfield Township IN | 3,731 | $85K | 7.2% | 2.3% | 3% | A− |
| 927 | Hamburg NJ | 3,345 | $87K | 3.4% | 4.0% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,867 | 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 Coldwater, 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 Coldwater: questions
What is the median household income in Coldwater?
$68,009 (±$8,672) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Coldwater?
2.4%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Coldwater?
16 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Coldwater work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Celina (11%, 6 mi), Jefferson Township (5%, 6 mi), New Bremen (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Coldwater walkable?
Coldwater is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Coldwater without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Coldwater, from the people who make the trip.
More of Coldwater
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.