Photo: Christopher L. Riley · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Napoleon (2.1%) is lower than in 83% of U.S. towns
4% of workers work from home; Ohio has 13%. About one in four work in Napoleon; the top destination outside it is Defiance (6%, 15 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 20 minutes, where Ohio has 23 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Napoleon and work: the main findings
Napoleon makes and builds things
51% of the jobs based in Napoleon are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Napoleon residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 36%. The jobs ↓
Few Napoleon workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Napoleon draws workers from far and wide
The 5,714 jobs in Napoleon are filled from a wide area. Napoleon’s own residents hold 21% and the ten next-biggest home towns 23%; the other 56% 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.
Income, poverty and work: Napoleon’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Napoleon is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #376 of 992 in Ohio. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($76,639, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Napoleon could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Goods jobs make up 51% of work in Napoleon
5,714 jobs are based in Napoleon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Napoleon, 2013 → 2023: 5,248 → 5,714. 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 Napoleon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Napoleon’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Napoleon workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,341 commuters (the 4% 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.
Commuting out of Napoleon: the destinations
Where Napoleon clocks in
5% 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.
Who works in Napoleon, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,891 residents head out to work, 1,185 work right here, and 4,529 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Napoleon on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.40 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.
How far it is to work from Napoleon
About 17% 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.
For most of Napoleon, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Napoleon is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #418 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 4,510 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). 4.9% of Napoleon households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Napoleon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,100 to 11,700, Napoleon ranks 1,138th of 2,893 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Jerome Township OH | 11,237 | $176K | 0.4% | 0.7% | 3% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,136 | Shelburne VT | 8,133 | $116K | 8.4% | 3.8% | 15% | B+ |
| 1,137 | Runnemede NJ | 8,443 | $91K | 8.0% | 6.1% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,138 | Napoleon OH | 8,680 | $77K | 7.9% | 2.1% | 29% | B+ |
| 1,139 | Montpelier VT | 7,823 | $81K | 6.5% | 2.4% | 33% | B+ |
| 1,140 | Washington NJ | 7,326 | $81K | 8.5% | 3.0% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,893 | 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 Napoleon, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Work in the towns next to Napoleon
The biggest share goes to Harrison Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Napoleon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napoleon | – | B+ | B− | 20 min | $76,639 |
| Harrison Township | 2% | B | D− | 24 min | $68,355 |
| Liberty Township | under 2% | B | C− | 23 min | $75,551 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Napoleon’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 Napoleon: questions
What is the median household income in Napoleon?
$76,639 (±$7,064) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Napoleon?
7.9%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Napoleon?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Napoleon work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Defiance (6%, 15 mi), Archbold (5%, 12 mi), Wauseon (5%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Napoleon walkable?
Napoleon is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Napoleon without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Napoleon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Napoleon
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.