Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWork, pay and getting to work in Norwood
Only 7% stay in Norwood for work; outside it, Cincinnati is the main destination (34%, 3 miles). The two grades for Norwood are B− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 8.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 15.3 in Cincinnati.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Norwood
Norwood is where the jobs are
Norwood has 14,748 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Norwood and Cincinnati trade workers both ways
Cincinnati is the top workplace for Norwood residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Norwood come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Norwood residents work close to home
68% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Norwood draws workers from far and wide
The 14,748 jobs in Norwood are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 30%; the other 66% 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.
How Norwood earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norwood is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #616 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Norwood’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (17.5%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norwood could be anywhere from C to B+.
A workday in Norwood: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 8,303 residents head out to work, 607 work right here, and 14,141 people come in from elsewhere.
About 25,000 people are in Norwood on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Norwood’s workforce comes from
Where Norwood clocks in
34% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Norwood
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.
What Norwood’s employers do
14,748 jobs are based in Norwood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norwood, 2013 → 2023: 12,031 → 14,748. 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 Norwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Norwood: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norwood workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,753 commuters (the 16% 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.
Norwood is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norwood is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #12 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Norwood near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,411 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 33% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 11.2% of Norwood households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Norwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Norwood is 1,209th among 1,860 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 27,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Powell OH | 18,269 | $195K | 1.1% | 2.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Hudson OH | 23,085 | $171K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Avon OH | 25,611 | $136K | 3.0% | 1.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,207 | Washington Township IN | 14,073 | $64K | 12.0% | 2.3% | 40% | B− |
| 1,208 | Dover NJ | 18,919 | $74K | 14.2% | 5.9% | 9% | B− |
| 1,209 | Norwood OH | 19,658 | $72K | 17.5% | 4.6% | 7% | B− |
| 1,210 | Center Township IN | 16,383 | $68K | 11.1% | 3.0% | 35% | B− |
| 1,211 | Bloomington CA | 25,698 | $82K | 15.6% | 6.4% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,860 | 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 Norwood, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Next door to Norwood
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwood | – | B− | A+ | 22 min | $71,611 |
| Columbia Township | under 2% | C | A | 20 min | $68,088 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Norwood’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 Norwood: questions
What is the median household income in Norwood?
$71,611 (±$6,120) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norwood?
17.5%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norwood?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norwood work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (34%, 3 mi), Blue Ash (4%, 7 mi), West Chester Township (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norwood walkable?
Norwood is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norwood without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 33% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norwood
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.