Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic · CC BY-SA 4.0Cortland has lower unemployment (1.0%) than 94% of U.S. towns
At 24 minutes each way, commutes from Cortland run about the Ohio average. Jobs and income earn Cortland B+; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 6% work in Cortland itself; outside it, Warren draws the most (8%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Cortland, in a few figures
The figures behind Cortland’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cortland is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #373 of 992 in Ohio. Unemployment holds Cortland’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($71,563, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cortland could be anywhere from B− to A.
Where Cortland goes to work
Where Cortland clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
Cortland by day and by night
On a workday 2,625 residents head out to work, 168 work right here, and 878 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Cortland on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.37 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.
Jobs in Cortland: what the 1,046 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cortland, 2013 → 2023: 1,112 → 1,046. 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 Cortland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 24 minutes in Cortland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cortland workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,022 commuters (the 10% 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.
Cortland’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Cortland is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cortland is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns, #791 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 3,364 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). 6.6% of Cortland households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cortland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,500, Cortland ranks 1,177th of 3,227 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | The Village of Indian Hill OH | 6,114 | $235K | 3.1% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Pepper Pike OH | 6,886 | $228K | 1.8% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Independence OH | 7,456 | $116K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,175 | Manchester WA | 5,956 | $126K | 11.9% | 0.0% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,176 | Woodland Park CO | 8,014 | $99K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 22% | B+ |
| 1,177 | Cortland OH | 7,024 | $72K | 9.8% | 1.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,178 | Richland Hills TX | 8,529 | $67K | 8.5% | 3.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,179 | St. Clair Township MI | 7,159 | $93K | 5.3% | 4.3% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,227 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Cortland, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
How Cortland compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Bazetta Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cortland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland | – | B+ | C− | 24 min | $71,563 |
| Bazetta Township | 3% | A− | C− | 21 min | $80,899 |
| Fowler Township | under 2% | B | C | 22 min | $75,924 |
| Johnston Township | under 2% | C− | C | 25 min | $60,875 |
| Mecca Township | under 2% | C− | D− | 26 min | $53,571 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cortland’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 Cortland: questions
What is the median household income in Cortland?
$71,563 (±$14,120) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cortland?
9.8%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cortland?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cortland work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Warren (8%, 8 mi), Youngstown (7%, 16 mi), Niles (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cortland walkable?
Cortland is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cortland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cortland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cortland
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.