Photo: LeeG7144 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Madison (2.6%) than in 76% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 73% of U.S. towns. Madison grades A for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 4% work in Madison itself; outside it, Mentor draws the most (13%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Madison apart
Jobs in Madison have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Madison went from 511 in 2013 to 1,036 in 2023, +103%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Madison
64% of Madison residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Madison pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Madison pay little
26% of the jobs based in Madison pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 33% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Madison earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Madison is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #184 of 992 in Ohio. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.1%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 63% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Madison could be anywhere from B to A+.
Madison is a services town
1,036 jobs are based in Madison.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 511 → 1,036. 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 Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Madison for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,582 residents head out to work, 67 work right here, and 969 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Madison on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.63 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 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Madison’s residents
Where Madison clocks in
13% of workers
10% 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 trip to work from Madison: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madison workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,452 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.
The distance from Madison to work
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 commute in Madison is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Madison is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #369 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 1,707 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 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 2.8% of Madison households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Madison’s commuters take a bus or train.
Madison next to U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600: 567th of 4,402 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 565 | Mount Repose OH | 3,798 | $102K | 2.8% | 4.4% | 2% | A |
| 566 | Saddle River NJ | 3,430 | $212K | 4.3% | 7.3% | 3% | A |
| 567 | Madison OH | 3,427 | $95K | 4.1% | 2.6% | 4% | A |
| 568 | Salem CT | 4,324 | $123K | 6.2% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| 569 | Wallace FL | 4,202 | $116K | 5.7% | 1.4% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Madison, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
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 Madison: questions
What is the median household income in Madison?
$94,928 (±$12,004) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madison?
4.1%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madison?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madison work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mentor (13%, 16 mi), Cleveland (10%, 38 mi), Painesville (7%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Madison walkable?
Madison is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Madison without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madison
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.