Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHousehold incomes in Lake Township are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Lake Township itself; outside it, Bellefontaine draws the most (26%, 1 miles). Below the poverty line: 19.4% of residents, where Ohio as a whole has 13.3%. Jobs and income earn Lake Township 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
Getting to work from Lake Township, in brief
Lake Township trades workers with the towns around it
Lake Township has about as many jobs (6,171) as working residents (5,672), but they are mostly different people: 4,462 residents leave for work each day while 4,961 people come in. Only 20% of the jobs in Lake Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Lake Township and Bellefontaine trade workers both ways
Bellefontaine is the top workplace for Lake Township residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Lake Township come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Lake Township draws workers from far and wide
The 6,171 jobs in Lake Township are filled from a wide area. Lake Township’s own residents hold 20% and the ten next-biggest home towns 19%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Why Lake Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Township is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #877 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Lake Township’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Township could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily flow of workers through Lake Township
On a workday 4,462 residents head out to work, 1,210 work right here, and 4,961 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 (1.09 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 Lake Township’s working residents head each day
Where Lake Township clocks in
26% of workers
7% 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 kinds of work in Lake Township
6,171 jobs are based in Lake Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Township, 2013 → 2023: 7,025 → 6,171. 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 Lake Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Lake Township: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Township workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,347 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Lake Township
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.
Driving is how Lake Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Township is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #419 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 5,686 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). 9.8% of Lake Township households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Lake Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lake Township next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000: 2,023rd of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 4 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Jerome Township OH | 11,237 | $176K | 0.4% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,021 | Elizabethton TN | 14,350 | $47K | 18.8% | 5.5% | 21% | C− |
| 2,022 | Chillicothe MO | 9,114 | $54K | 16.8% | 3.6% | 45% | C− |
| 2,023 | Lake Township OH | 12,740 | $57K | 19.4% | 5.6% | 21% | C− |
| 2,024 | Bennington VT | 14,953 | $59K | 13.2% | 5.4% | 56% | C− |
| 2,025 | Edwards CO | 10,785 | $82K | 12.5% | 10.3% | 18% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
The towns around Lake Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Township | – | C− | B− | 19 min | $56,857 |
| Jefferson Township | under 2% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $91,510 |
| Harrison Township | under 2% | B | C | 26 min | $69,212 |
| Liberty Township | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 19 min | $66,912 |
| McArthur Township | under 2% | B− | D | 20 min | $73,684 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Township’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 Lake Township: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Township?
$56,857 (±$10,956) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Township?
19.4%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Township?
19 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Township work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bellefontaine (26%, 1 mi), Allen Township (7%, 16 mi), Perry Township (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lake Township walkable?
Lake Township is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Township 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 Lake Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Township
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.