Columbus draws about half of Lake Darby’s working residents
Lake Darby grades A for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Hardly any stay in Lake Darby for work; outside it, Columbus is the main destination (48%, 12 miles). Measured by household income, Lake Darby is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Lake Darby in brief
Lake Darby is a place people come home to
There are 95 jobs based in Lake Darby, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lake Darby has about 2,300 people in it, 50% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly half of Lake Darby works in Columbus
1,154 working residents, 48%, have their main job in Columbus, 13 miles away. That’s far more as work in Lake Darby itself. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Lake Darby’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Darby is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #95 of 992 in Ohio. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Lake Darby’s grade. 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, Lake Darby could be anywhere from B to A+.
Who works in Lake Darby, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,404 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 84 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Lake Darby on a workday afternoon, 50% fewer than live here.
0.04 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where Lake Darby goes to work
Where Lake Darby clocks in
48% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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 Lake Darby, services account for most jobs
95 jobs are based in Lake Darby.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Darby, 2014 → 2024: 103 → 95. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lake Darby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Lake Darby: about 23 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 Lake Darby workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,095 commuters (the 15% 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.
How far Lake Darby’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of Lake Darby, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Darby is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns, #963 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Lake Darby 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 2,462 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). 0.7% of Lake Darby households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lake Darby’s commuters take a bus or train.
282nd of 3,938: where Lake Darby ranks among U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | The Village of Indian Hill OH | 6,114 | $235K | 3.1% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | South Russell OH | 3,913 | $172K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Sharon Township OH | 6,117 | $126K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 280 | Leacock Township PA | 5,672 | $83K | 2.4% | 0.3% | 25% | A |
| 281 | Emerald Mountain AL | 3,535 | $123K | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1% | A |
| 282 | Lake Darby OH | 4,608 | $97K | 5.1% | 2.0% | <1% | A |
| 283 | Rock Hill MO | 4,668 | $95K | 5.2% | 2.6% | 2% | A |
| 284 | Midland NC | 5,151 | $101K | 4.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Lake Darby, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Lake Darby and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to West Jefferson (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Darby workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Darby | – | A | D− | 23 min | $97,404 |
| Jefferson Township | under 1% | A− | C− | 24 min | $82,300 |
| West Jefferson | 2% | B+ | D | 26 min | $64,136 |
| Brown Township | under 1% | A− | C− | 24 min | $133,542 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Darby’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 2024, 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 Lake Darby: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Darby?
$97,404 (±$36,955) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Darby?
5.1%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Darby?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Darby work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (48%, 12 mi), Dublin (6%, 11 mi), Hilliard (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Lake Darby walkable?
Lake Darby is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Darby without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Darby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Darby
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.