Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Elyria have lower incomes than those in 81% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Elyria; the top destination outside it is Cleveland (9%, 23 miles). Below the poverty line: 16.7% of residents, next to 13.3% across Ohio. Elyria grades C for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Elyria apart on work
Elyria trades workers with the towns around it
Elyria has about as many jobs (21,619) as working residents (22,736), but they are mostly different people: 18,134 residents leave for work each day while 17,017 people come in. Only 21% of the jobs in Elyria are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Elyria’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Elyria is Cleveland, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (1,949) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
What’s behind Elyria’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elyria is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #790 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Elyria’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($54,945, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elyria could be anywhere from C to C+.
In and out of Elyria on a workday
On a workday 18,134 residents head out to work, 4,602 work right here, and 17,017 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.95 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 in the region Elyria works
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.
The places Elyria commutes to
Where Elyria clocks in
9% of workers
5% 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.
The 21,619 jobs based in Elyria
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elyria, 2013 → 2023: 24,155 → 21,619. 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 Elyria’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way for Elyria’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elyria workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,540 commuters (the 6% 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.
Elyria is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elyria is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns, #538 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Elyria 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 24,095 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). 8.9% of Elyria households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elyria’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 38,000 to 72,000, Elyria ranks 679th of 815 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Dublin OH | 49,094 | $160K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Washington Township OH | 51,915 | $148K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 677 | Florence-Graham CA | 60,690 | $65K | 20.1% | 9.2% | 3% | C |
| 678 | Taylor MI | 61,279 | $61K | 18.4% | 7.0% | 10% | C |
| 679 | Elyria OH | 53,634 | $55K | 16.7% | 5.6% | 20% | C |
| 680 | Socorro TX | 38,787 | $55K | 20.7% | 4.8% | 5% | C |
| 681 | St. Joseph MO | 71,001 | $58K | 17.7% | 4.3% | 68% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 815 | 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 Elyria, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Next door to Elyria
The biggest share goes to North Ridgeville (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elyria workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elyria | – | C | C+ | 23 min | $54,945 |
| Carlisle Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 23 min | $86,944 |
| Elyria Township | under 2% | B | C | 26 min | $62,179 |
| Eaton Township | under 2% | A− | D | 24 min | $77,143 |
| Amherst Township | under 2% | B | C | 26 min | $82,554 |
| North Ridgeville | 4% | A | B− | 26 min | $96,698 |
| Sheffield | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $107,837 |
| Sheffield Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 26 min | $48,433 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elyria’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 Elyria: questions
What is the median household income in Elyria?
$54,945 (±$2,562) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elyria?
16.7%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elyria?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elyria work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cleveland (9%, 23 mi), Westlake (5%, 10 mi), Avon (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elyria walkable?
Elyria is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elyria without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elyria, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elyria
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.