Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMost of Payne commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
228 jobs are based in Payne; 564 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Payne C−; getting around on foot earns it C. 4% of workers work from home (Ohio 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Payne stands out on work
A lot of Payne workers cross into Indiana
30% of Payne workers work outside Ohio, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Fort Wayne (11%), New Haven (4%) and Milan Township (3%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Payne than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Payne fell from 356 in 2013 to 228 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Few Payne workers work from home
Only 4% 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; with 564 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Payne
On income, poverty and job access, Payne is better than 24% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Payne’s grade up (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (17.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (5.1%) is left out: Payne’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Payne could be anywhere from D to B+.
11% of working residents work in Fort Wayne
Where Payne clocks in
9% of workers
8% 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.
Jobs in Payne: what the 228 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Payne, 2013 → 2023: 356 → 228. 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 Payne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Payne: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Payne workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 574 commuters (the 4% 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 many people are in Payne by day
On a workday 536 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 200 people come in from elsewhere.
About 850 people are in Payne on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Payne
About 21% 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.
Getting around Payne: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Payne is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% 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 600 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). 8.0% of Payne households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Payne’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Payne is 2,724th of 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Millcreek Township OH | 1,562 | $151K | 2.3% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Bratenahl OH | 1,396 | $138K | 4.4% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Coldstream OH | 1,540 | $232K | 0.6% | 1.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,722 | Washington KS | 1,063 | $58K | 7.1% | 1.8% | 24% | C− |
| 2,723 | Pierz MN | 1,450 | $53K | 10.0% | 1.6% | 17% | C− |
| 2,724 | Payne OH | 1,188 | $63K | 17.4% | 5.1% | 5% | C− |
| 2,725 | Pleasant Township IN | 1,375 | $105K | 22.3% | 0.0% | 1% | C− |
| 2,726 | Pomona Township KS | 1,127 | $62K | 11.5% | 4.7% | 6% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Payne, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
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 Payne: questions
What is the median household income in Payne?
$63,438 (±$24,796) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Payne?
17.4%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Payne?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Payne work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Wayne (11%, 22 mi), Paulding (9%, 9 mi), Van Wert (8%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Payne walkable?
Payne is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Payne without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Payne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Payne
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.