Photo: Weatherman1126 · Public domainMore people are out of work in Oberlin (5.6%) than in 69% of U.S. towns
Oberlin grades B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in four work in Oberlin; the top destination outside it is Cleveland (12%, 31 miles). The average commute takes 17 minutes each way; Ohio averages 23, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Oberlin, in a few figures
Oberlin’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Oberlin is Cleveland, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (357) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Oberlin are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 23 across Ohio. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Ohio worker. Time on the road ↓
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 Oberlin’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oberlin is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #658 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Oberlin’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (16.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oberlin could be anywhere from C to B+.
Where in the region Oberlin works
About 19% 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.
Commuting from Oberlin: about 17 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oberlin workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,155 commuters (the 12% 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.
Who leaves Oberlin for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,128 residents head out to work, 748 work right here, and 3,162 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,600 people are in Oberlin on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 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.
Out of Oberlin to work: where people go
Where Oberlin clocks in
12% of workers
6% 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.
What Oberlin’s employers do
3,910 jobs are based in Oberlin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oberlin, 2013 → 2023: 3,991 → 3,910. 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 Oberlin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Oberlin
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oberlin is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #49 of 993 in Ohio. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 33.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.7% across Ohio, on an EPA index of 7.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,594 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). 8.9% of Oberlin households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Oberlin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,000 to 11,600, Oberlin ranks 1,847th of 2,944 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 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Jerome Township OH | 11,237 | $176K | 0.4% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Madeira OH | 9,637 | $168K | 2.5% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 27 | The Village of Indian Hill OH | 6,114 | $235K | 3.1% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,845 | German Township IN | 7,453 | $75K | 14.2% | 4.7% | 7% | B− |
| 1,846 | Richland MS | 7,630 | $67K | 12.7% | 5.1% | 10% | B− |
| 1,847 | Oberlin OH | 8,603 | $81K | 16.1% | 5.6% | 26% | B− |
| 1,848 | Perryton TX | 7,850 | $70K | 12.4% | 0.3% | 38% | B− |
| 1,849 | Thompson CT | 9,566 | $94K | 5.9% | 7.9% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,944 | 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 Oberlin, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
The towns around Oberlin
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oberlin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin | – | B− | A | 17 min | $81,308 |
| New Russia Township | under 1% | B+ | B | 27 min | $82,583 |
| Pittsfield Township | under 1% | B− | C+ | 34 min | $73,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oberlin’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 Oberlin: questions
What is the median household income in Oberlin?
$81,308 (±$7,364) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oberlin?
16.1%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oberlin?
17 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oberlin work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cleveland (12%, 31 mi), Elyria (6%, 9 mi), Lorain (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oberlin walkable?
Oberlin is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 33% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oberlin without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oberlin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oberlin
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.