Ontario has 2.9 jobs for every working resident: 7,444 people commute in to work
Jobs & income C+: better than 45% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #676 of 992 in Ohio.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns · #160 of 993 in Ohio.
Household incomes here are lower than in 61% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Ohio 23, U.S. 26). About one in seven work in Ontario; the top destination outside it is Mansfield (25%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Ontario, in brief
Ontario is where the jobs are
Ontario has 7,787 jobs, 2.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 12,000 people are in town, 77% more than the 6,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
Ontario and Mansfield trade workers both ways
Mansfield is the top workplace for Ontario residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Ontario come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Ontario draws workers from far and wide
The 7,787 jobs in Ontario are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 32%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Ontario
58% of Ontario residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 36% of the jobs based in Ontario pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 87% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Few Ontario workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 Ontario’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ontario is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #676 of 992 in Ohio. The poverty rate holds Ontario’s grade up (7.4%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (6.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ontario could be anywhere from C− to A.
Ontario nearly doubles on a workday
On a workday 2,302 residents head out to work, 343 work right here, and 7,444 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Ontario on a workday afternoon, 77% more than live here.
2.9 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 Ontario’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Ontario clocks in
25% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 7,787 jobs in Ontario are
7,787 jobs are based in Ontario. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ontario’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ontario, 2013 → 2023: 7,111 → 7,787. 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.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Ohio
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ontario workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,293 commuters (the 2% 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 Ontario commutes less than 8 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 26% 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.
Most trips from Ontario start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ontario is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #160 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Ontario 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 3,348 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). 5.9% of Ontario households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ontario’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ontario is 1,977th of 3,201 U.S. towns of 4,700 to 9,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ontario, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | The Village of Indian Hill OH | 6,114 | $235K | 3.1% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Pepper Pike OH | 6,886 | $228K | 1.8% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Independence OH | 7,456 | $116K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,975 | Thief River Falls MN | 8,799 | $71K | 12.2% | 2.7% | 71% | C+ |
| 1,976 | Canal Fulton OH | 5,412 | $62K | 13.9% | 4.4% | 8% | C+ |
| 1,977 | Ontario OH | 6,692 | $69K | 7.4% | 6.3% | 13% | C+ |
| 1,978 | Cortlandville NY | 8,191 | $74K | 7.8% | 4.9% | 18% | C+ |
| 1,979 | Union Township PA | 5,518 | $61K | 15.0% | 4.1% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,201 | 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.
27% of Ontario works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Mansfield (25%). Darker towns draw more of Ontario’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ontario workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | – | C+ | B+ | 19 min | $68,539 |
| Springfield Township | 2% | B | B− | 20 min | $80,762 |
| Mansfield | 25% | D | B | 21 min | $44,540 |
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 Ontario: questions
What is the median household income in Ontario?
$68,539 (±$8,697) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ontario?
7.4%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ontario?
19 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ontario work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mansfield (25%, 4 mi), Columbus (7%, 58 mi), Galion (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ontario walkable?
Ontario is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ontario without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ontario, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ontario
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.