Photo: Nyttend · Public domainParma Heights has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 11.7 in Cleveland. There are 3,041 jobs in Parma Heights, and 9,682 of its residents work somewhere. Parma Heights grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Parma Heights
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Parma Heights’ working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 26 minutes, longer than the Ohio average of 23. Time on the road ↓
Parma Heights empties out on a workday
About 14,000 people are in Parma Heights on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than the 20,000 who live here: 9,400 head out to work and 2,800 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.
Jobs & income in Parma Heights: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Parma Heights is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #606 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Parma Heights’ grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($61,009, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Parma Heights could be anywhere from C to B+.
From Parma Heights, about 26 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Parma Heights workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,073 commuters (the 14% 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.
How a workday changes Parma Heights
On a workday 9,413 residents head out to work, 269 work right here, and 2,772 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Parma Heights on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
27% of working residents work in Cleveland
Where Parma Heights clocks in
27% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
Parma Heights is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Parma Heights, 2013 → 2023: 3,322 → 3,041. 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 Parma Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Parma Heights’ workers travel
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Parma Heights
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Parma Heights is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #61 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.7% 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 10,587 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 8.1% of Parma Heights households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Parma Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Parma Heights ranks: 1,195th of 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,193 | Saugerties NY | 19,393 | $78K | 9.8% | 3.6% | 23% | B− |
| 1,194 | Glassboro NJ | 24,483 | $87K | 13.4% | 7.4% | 8% | B− |
| 1,195 | Parma Heights OH | 20,327 | $61K | 13.9% | 4.1% | 3% | B− |
| 1,196 | Eustis FL | 25,483 | $65K | 9.6% | 3.8% | 8% | B− |
| 1,197 | Sand Springs OK | 20,397 | $76K | 10.5% | 5.9% | 11% | 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 Parma Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
How Parma Heights compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Parma (7%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Parma Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parma Heights | – | B− | A− | 26 min | $61,009 |
| Parma | 7% | B− | A− | 24 min | $69,295 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Parma Heights’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 Parma Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Parma Heights?
$61,009 (±$6,194) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Parma Heights?
13.9%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Parma Heights?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Parma Heights work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cleveland (27%, 8 mi), Parma (7%, 2 mi), Middleburg Heights (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Parma Heights walkable?
Parma Heights is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Parma Heights without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Parma Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Parma Heights
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.