Photo: Nheyob · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Dresden earn less than those in 77% of U.S. towns
14.0% of residents live below the poverty line, where Ohio as a whole has 13.3%. Dresden grades C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Home is the office for 5% of workers, next to 13% for Ohio as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Dresden stands out on work
The better-paid jobs are outside Dresden
59% of Dresden residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 36% of the jobs based in Dresden pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Dresden pay little
29% of the jobs based in Dresden pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Dresden workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 23 across Ohio. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; with 696 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Dresden: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Dresden is better than 24% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Dresden’s grade up (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($57,991, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (2.9%) is left out: Dresden’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, Dresden could be anywhere from D to C+.
In Dresden, services account for most jobs
444 jobs are based in Dresden.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dresden, 2013 → 2023: 378 → 444. 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 Dresden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Dresden: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dresden workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 805 commuters (the 5% 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 daily commute in and out of Dresden
On a workday 667 residents head out to work, 29 work right here, and 415 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Dresden on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
23% of working residents work in Zanesville
Where Dresden clocks in
23% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
The distance from Dresden to work
About 23% 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.
In Dresden, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dresden is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 849 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). 9.5% of Dresden households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Dresden’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,381 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200, Dresden comes 3,570th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | New California OH | 1,672 | $162K | 0.0% | 1.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Millcreek Township OH | 1,562 | $151K | 2.3% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Bratenahl OH | 1,396 | $138K | 4.4% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,568 | Concord Township PA | 1,249 | $68K | 10.4% | 3.1% | 2% | C− |
| 3,569 | Fairforest SC | 1,727 | $52K | 28.9% | 0.0% | 3% | C− |
| 3,570 | Dresden OH | 1,646 | $58K | 14.0% | 2.9% | 4% | C− |
| 3,571 | Halbert Township IN | 1,552 | $71K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 15% | C− |
| 3,572 | Fayette ME | 1,277 | $60K | 7.9% | 3.4% | 3% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Dresden, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Work in the towns next to Dresden
The biggest share goes to Cass Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dresden workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dresden | – | C− | B− | 28 min | $57,991 |
| Jefferson Township | under 2% | C | C+ | 28 min | $60,380 |
| Cass Township | 2% | B+ | C | 26 min | $97,702 |
| Madison Township | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Trinway | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Madison Township and Trinway: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dresden’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 Dresden: questions
What is the median household income in Dresden?
$57,991 (±$11,644) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dresden?
14.0%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dresden?
28 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dresden work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Zanesville (23%, 11 mi), Columbus (10%, 52 mi), Newark (7%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dresden walkable?
Dresden is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dresden without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dresden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dresden
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.