Photo: Art Anderson · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Kenton are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns
18.6% of residents are in poverty, against 13.3% across Ohio. The two grades for Kenton are C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 2% of workers have no commute at all (Ohio 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Kenton: the gist
Kenton trades workers with the towns around it
Kenton has about as many jobs (3,428) as working residents (2,996), but they are mostly different people: 2,176 residents leave for work each day while 2,608 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in Kenton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Kenton workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
Inside Kenton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kenton is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #922 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Kenton’s grade up (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kenton could be anywhere from D to B−.
Kenton by day and by night
On a workday 2,176 residents head out to work, 820 work right here, and 2,608 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 (1.14 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.
The daily trip from Kenton: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kenton workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,249 commuters (the 2% 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.
5% of working residents work in Columbus
Where Kenton clocks in
5% 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.
Goods, not services: 28% of the jobs in Kenton
3,428 jobs are based in Kenton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kenton, 2013 → 2023: 3,467 → 3,428. 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 Kenton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Kenton
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Kenton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kenton is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #68 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Kenton 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 3,308 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). 10.2% of Kenton households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kenton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kenton places 2,632nd of 2,983 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Madeira OH | 9,637 | $168K | 2.5% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 26 | The Village of Indian Hill OH | 6,114 | $235K | 3.1% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Pepper Pike OH | 6,886 | $228K | 1.8% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,630 | Rushville IN | 6,171 | $53K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 25% | C− |
| 2,631 | McKenzie TN | 5,632 | $37K | 21.2% | 4.0% | 21% | C− |
| 2,632 | Kenton OH | 7,808 | $56K | 18.6% | 5.7% | 27% | C− |
| 2,633 | Mount Carmel PA | 5,579 | $53K | 16.2% | 6.4% | 7% | C− |
| 2,634 | Murphysboro IL | 6,977 | $44K | 14.9% | 5.9% | 24% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,983 | 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 Kenton, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
How Kenton compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Buck Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kenton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenton | – | C− | A− | 22 min | $56,033 |
| Buck Township | 4% | D | B | 22 min | $42,833 |
| Pleasant Township | under 2% | C− | A− | 22 min | $59,598 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kenton’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 Kenton: questions
What is the median household income in Kenton?
$56,033 (±$5,643) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kenton?
18.6%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kenton?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kenton work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (5%, 56 mi), Bellefontaine (5%, 21 mi), Buck Township (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kenton walkable?
Kenton is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kenton without a car?
0% 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 Kenton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kenton
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.