Delaware County Courthouse · Photo: Christopher L. Riley · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Delaware earn more than those in 77% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Delaware are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 7.8% of residents; Ohio has 13.3%. About one in seven stay in Delaware for work; outside it, Columbus is the main destination (32%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Delaware: the gist
The four measures behind Delaware’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Delaware is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #197 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Delaware could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Where the trip to work from Delaware ends
Where Delaware clocks in
32% of workers
6% 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.
In and out of Delaware on a workday
On a workday 17,398 residents head out to work, 3,307 work right here, and 12,385 people come in from elsewhere.
About 42,000 people are in Delaware on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
Jobs in Delaware: what the 15,692 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Delaware, 2013 → 2023: 14,685 → 15,692. 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 Delaware’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Delaware: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Delaware workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 19,199 commuters (the 19% 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.
The commute from Delaware, by distance
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 trips from Delaware start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Delaware is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #172 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Delaware 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 23,717 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.6% of Delaware households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Delaware’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Delaware is 241st among 923 U.S. towns of 33,000 to 63,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Dublin OH | 49,094 | $160K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 239 | Grapevine TX | 50,714 | $111K | 6.7% | 4.7% | 14% | A− |
| 240 | Spanish Fork UT | 48,837 | $105K | 6.6% | 2.3% | 15% | A− |
| 241 | Delaware OH | 46,636 | $100K | 7.8% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| 242 | Morgan Hill CA | 45,625 | $164K | 4.1% | 5.3% | 13% | A− |
| 243 | Clarence NY | 33,198 | $125K | 6.5% | 4.0% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 923 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Delaware, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Delaware and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Liberty Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Delaware workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | – | A− | B+ | 26 min | $99,786 |
| Delaware Township | under 2% | A− | B− | 21 min | $75,000 |
| Troy Township | under 2% | A− | D | 26 min | $91,289 |
| Liberty Township | 2% | A+ | B | 27 min | $186,707 |
| Brown Township | under 2% | C+ | D− | 35 min | $75,125 |
| Scioto Township | under 2% | A+ | C− | 28 min | $158,920 |
| Berlin Township | under 2% | A+ | C | 26 min | $168,698 |
| Concord Township | under 2% | A | D | 32 min | $153,941 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Delaware’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 Delaware: questions
What is the median household income in Delaware?
$99,786 (±$3,283) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Delaware?
7.8%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Delaware?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Delaware work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (32%, 21 mi), Dublin (6%, 12 mi), Orange Township (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Delaware walkable?
Delaware is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Delaware without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Delaware, from the people who make the trip.
More of Delaware
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.