Photo: Paul Wasneski · Public domainHousehold incomes in Columbus trail those of 64% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Columbus are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Below the poverty line: 18.1% of residents; Ohio has 13.3%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 11.7 in Cleveland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs & income in Columbus: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Columbus is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #673 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Columbus’ grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbus could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
Columbus fills up on a workday
On a workday 189,609 residents head out to work, 208,833 work right here, and 313,841 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,063,000 people are in Columbus on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 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 Columbus goes to work
Where Columbus clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
68% of the jobs in Columbus pay over $3,333 a month
522,674 jobs are based in Columbus.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 466,556 → 522,674. 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 Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Columbus: about 22 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 390,334 commuters (the 18% 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.
Half of Columbus commutes less than 8 miles
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Columbus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbus is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #31 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Columbus 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 477,886 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 65% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 25% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 8.5% of Columbus households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Columbus’ commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
U.S. towns of 657,000 to 1,267,000, and where Columbus sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead NY | 795,734 | $141K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 28% | A |
| 2 | San Jose CA | 989,814 | $146K | 8.1% | 5.1% | 36% | A− |
| 3 | Seattle WA | 784,777 | $124K | 9.9% | 4.6% | 60% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Indianapolis IN | 910,638 | $66K | 15.8% | 5.1% | 61% | B− |
| 16 | Las Vegas NV | 679,817 | $74K | 14.0% | 7.4% | 34% | B− |
| 17 | Columbus OH | 938,396 | $66K | 18.1% | 5.1% | 52% | B− |
| 18 | El Paso TX | 683,012 | $60K | 18.4% | 6.0% | 79% | C |
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, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Columbus and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Hilliard (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Columbus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | – | B− | A | 22 min | $66,082 |
| Hamilton Township | under 2% | B− | B− | 21 min | $78,611 |
| Norwich Township | under 2% | A | B | 22 min | $130,801 |
| Jackson Township | under 2% | A− | B+ | 22 min | $91,817 |
| Mifflin Township | under 2% | A | B | 20 min | $104,427 |
| Madison Township | under 2% | B+ | B | 23 min | $89,239 |
| Plain Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 22 min | $219,181 |
| Washington Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 23 min | $147,542 |
| Blendon Township | under 2% | A | B+ | 22 min | $102,089 |
| Prairie Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 21 min | $73,793 |
| Hilliard | 2% | A | B | 22 min | $128,189 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Columbus’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 Columbus: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus?
$66,082 (±$974) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus?
18.1%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus work?
52% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dublin (4%, 12 mi), Westerville (3%, 10 mi), Grove City (2%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbus walkable?
Columbus is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 25% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus
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.