Northbrook has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B: better than 62% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #468 of 992 in Ohio.
Walkability B: more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns · #284 of 993 in Ohio.
Household incomes here are lower than in 62% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 23 minutes each way (Ohio 23, U.S. 26). Only 1% work in Northbrook; the top destination outside it is Cincinnati (24%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Northbrook
Northbrook and Cincinnati trade workers both ways
Cincinnati is the top workplace for Northbrook residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Northbrook come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Many jobs in Northbrook pay little
29% of the jobs based in Northbrook pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 32% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Northbrook empties out on a workday
About 7,500 people are in Northbrook on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than the 11,000 who live here: 4,900 head out to work and 1,600 come in. Day and night ↓
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 Northbrook’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northbrook is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #468 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Northbrook’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($67,426, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Northbrook could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
24% of working residents work in Cincinnati
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Northbrook clocks in
24% of workers
5% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 1,666 jobs in Northbrook are
1,666 jobs are based in Northbrook. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Northbrook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northbrook, 2013 → 2023: 1,413 → 1,666. 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.
Northbrook quiets down on a workday
On a workday 4,851 residents head out to work, 67 work right here, and 1,599 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,500 people are in Northbrook on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.34 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.
About 23 minutes each way, about the OH average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northbrook workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,826 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.
Half of Northbrook commutes less than 10 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Northbrook start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northbrook is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #284 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 5,277 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 51% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 6.3% of Northbrook households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Northbrook’s commuters take a bus or train.
Northbrook is 1,236th of 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Northbrook, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 5 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Jerome Township OH | 11,237 | $176K | 0.4% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,234 | Helena Valley West Central MT | 8,056 | $90K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 4% | B |
| 1,235 | Belgrade MT | 13,107 | $97K | 11.2% | 3.0% | 12% | B |
| 1,236 | Northbrook OH | 10,742 | $67K | 10.7% | 3.4% | 1% | B |
| 1,237 | Black Mountain NC | 8,491 | $77K | 5.9% | 3.9% | 17% | B |
| 1,238 | Newstead NY | 8,695 | $71K | 6.6% | 4.3% | 18% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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.
Northbrook and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Northgate (2%). Darker towns draw more of Northbrook’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northbrook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northbrook | – | B | B | 23 min | $67,426 |
| Groesbeck | under 2% | B | B+ | 22 min | $61,984 |
| Skyline Acres | under 2% | C | C+ | 26 min | $46,250 |
| Springfield Township | under 2% | B− | B+ | 24 min | $73,682 |
| Northgate | 2% | B+ | A− | 27 min | $73,672 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Northbrook: questions
What is the median household income in Northbrook?
$67,426 (±$5,130) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northbrook?
10.7%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northbrook?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northbrook work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (24%, 8 mi), West Chester Township (5%, 11 mi), Blue Ash (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northbrook walkable?
Northbrook is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northbrook without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northbrook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northbrook
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.