Photo: Constantin Knapp · CC BY-SA 3.0Middletown’s household incomes are lower than in 78% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Middletown itself; outside it, Cincinnati draws the most (7%, 26 miles). Below the poverty line: 17.1% of residents (Ohio 13.3%). Jobs and income earn Middletown C; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Middletown, in a few figures
No single place dominates Middletown’s commute
The biggest draw, Cincinnati, gets only 7% of working residents, and 51% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Middletown residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Middletown draws workers from far and wide
The 16,981 jobs in Middletown are filled from a wide area. Middletown’s own residents hold 19% and the ten next-biggest home towns 22%; the other 59% 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.
What’s behind Middletown’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Middletown is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #799 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Middletown’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Middletown could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Where Middletown’s working residents head each day
Where Middletown clocks in
7% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Middletown
On a workday 18,285 residents head out to work, 3,158 work right here, and 13,823 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 (0.79 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.
Making and building: 33% of jobs based in Middletown
16,981 jobs are based in Middletown.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Middletown, 2013 → 2023: 17,876 → 16,981. 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 Middletown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, about the OH average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Middletown workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,459 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.
How far Middletown’s workers travel
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.
In Middletown, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Middletown is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #125 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 23,521 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 87% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 52% 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). 8.7% of Middletown households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Middletown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 830 U.S. towns of 37,000 to 70,000, Middletown comes 707th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Dublin OH | 49,094 | $160K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Washington Township OH | 51,915 | $148K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 705 | Bradenton FL | 58,014 | $61K | 14.8% | 6.3% | 19% | C |
| 706 | Union City NJ | 66,656 | $64K | 23.1% | 9.4% | 12% | C |
| 707 | Middletown OH | 52,146 | $57K | 17.1% | 5.9% | 15% | C |
| 708 | Euclid OH | 47,962 | $50K | 16.6% | 6.1% | 9% | C |
| 709 | San Jacinto CA | 56,014 | $81K | 16.1% | 8.9% | 11% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 830 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Middletown, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Around Middletown: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Monroe (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Middletown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown | – | C | A− | 24 min | $57,102 |
| Lemon Township | under 3% | A− | B− | 24 min | $101,942 |
| Monroe | 6% | A | C+ | 23 min | $105,250 |
| Madison Township | under 3% | B+ | D | 24 min | $82,216 |
| Hunter | under 3% | A | D | 24 min | $127,411 |
| Franklin Township | under 3% | B− | C | 23 min | $75,257 |
| Turtlecreek Township | under 3% | A | C− | 29 min | $108,309 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Middletown’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 Middletown: questions
What is the median household income in Middletown?
$57,102 (±$4,498) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Middletown?
17.1%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Middletown?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Middletown work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (7%, 26 mi), Monroe (6%, 4 mi), West Chester Township (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Middletown walkable?
Middletown is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Middletown without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Middletown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Middletown
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.