Big Four Depot · Photo: Rwcwalter at en.wikipedia · CC BY 2.5Households in Galion earn less than those in 85% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in Galion for work; outside it, Columbus is the main destination (9%, 53 miles). Poverty touches 15.2% of residents; Ohio has 13.3%. Jobs and income earn Galion C−; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Galion: the gist
Galion’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Galion is Columbus, 53 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (415) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Galion trades workers with the towns around it
Galion has about as many jobs (4,204) as working residents (4,475), but they are mostly different people: 3,559 residents leave for work each day while 3,288 people come in. Only 22% of the jobs in Galion are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Galion: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Galion is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #855 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Galion’s grade up (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,176, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Galion could be anywhere from D to B−.
Half of Galion commutes less than 16 miles
About 24% 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.
Galion on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,559 residents head out to work, 916 work right here, and 3,288 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 (0.94 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 Galion goes to work
Where Galion clocks in
9% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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 4,204 jobs based in Galion
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Galion, 2013 → 2023: 3,810 → 4,204. 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 Galion’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes each way for Galion’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Galion workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,291 commuters (the 9% 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.
For most of Galion, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Galion is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns, #258 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Galion 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 4,698 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). 5.6% of Galion households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Galion’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Galion is 2,345th among 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 5 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Jerome Township OH | 11,237 | $176K | 0.4% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,343 | Lander WY | 7,379 | $75K | 9.5% | 7.4% | 52% | C− |
| 2,344 | Garden City GA | 10,513 | $48K | 12.8% | 8.6% | 8% | C− |
| 2,345 | Galion OH | 10,370 | $52K | 15.2% | 5.0% | 20% | C− |
| 2,346 | Egelston Township MI | 11,445 | $61K | 11.2% | 9.9% | 6% | C− |
| 2,347 | North Union Township PA | 11,368 | $54K | 18.8% | 4.6% | 15% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Galion, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Galion and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Galion workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galion | – | C− | B | 27 min | $52,176 |
| Polk Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 23 min | $76,518 |
| Jackson Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Crestline | under 2% | C− | B | 25 min | $51,766 |
| North Bloomfield Township | under 2% | B+ | D− | 38 min | $90,469 |
Same-state neighbors only. Jackson Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Galion’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 Galion: questions
What is the median household income in Galion?
$52,176 (±$7,563) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Galion?
15.2%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Galion?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Galion work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (9%, 53 mi), Mansfield (8%, 13 mi), Bucyrus (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Galion walkable?
Galion is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Galion without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Galion, from the people who make the trip.
More of Galion
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.