Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Columbus Grove have lower incomes than those in 60% of U.S. towns
10.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.3% across Ohio. Jobs and income earn Columbus Grove C+; getting around on foot earns it C. About one in ten work in Columbus Grove itself; outside it, Lima draws the most (12%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Columbus Grove
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Columbus Grove
On income, poverty and job access, Columbus Grove is better than 38% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Columbus Grove’s grade.
Unemployment (3.2%) is left out: Columbus Grove’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Columbus Grove could be anywhere from C− to B.
40% of the jobs in Columbus Grove make or build things
675 jobs are based in Columbus Grove.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus Grove, 2014 → 2024: 702 → 675. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Columbus Grove
On a workday 890 residents head out to work, 101 work right here, and 574 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Columbus Grove on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.68 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from Columbus Grove work
Where Columbus Grove clocks in
12% of workers
10% of workers
6% 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.
Commuting from Columbus Grove: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus Grove workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 657 commuters (the 7% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Columbus Grove
About 18% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Columbus Grove, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbus Grove is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% 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 705 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). 2.1% of Columbus Grove households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Columbus Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900, Columbus Grove ranks 2,969th 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% | 1% | 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% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,967 | Honaunau-Napoopoo HI | 2,629 | $94K | 7.8% | 5.7% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,968 | New Athens IL | 1,854 | $57K | 11.5% | 2.6% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,969 | Columbus Grove OH | 2,132 | $69K | 10.7% | 3.2% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,970 | Lake City PA | 2,842 | $75K | 10.8% | 5.6% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,971 | White Pine TN | 2,619 | $55K | 11.6% | 4.1% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Columbus Grove, 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 2024, 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 Columbus Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus Grove?
$68,750 (±$15,361) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus Grove?
10.7%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus Grove?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus Grove work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lima (12%, 13 mi), Ottawa (10%, 7 mi), Findlay (6%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Columbus Grove walkable?
Columbus Grove is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus Grove without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus Grove
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.