Photo: Nheyob · CC BY-SA 3.0Plain City has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Plain City grades A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. 1,104 jobs are based in Plain City; 2,291 of its residents have a job. Measured by household income, Plain City is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Plain City, in brief
Plain City and Columbus trade workers both ways
Columbus is the top workplace for Plain City residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Plain City come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Plain City
65% of Plain City residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Plain City pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Plain City has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Plain City went from 819 in 2013 to 1,104 in 2023, +35%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Plain City earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Plain City is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #65 of 992 in Ohio. The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.5%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plain City could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
33% of working residents work in Columbus
Where Plain City clocks in
33% of workers
10% 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.
What Plain City’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plain City, 2013 → 2023: 819 → 1,104. 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 Plain City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Plain City on a workday
On a workday 2,193 residents head out to work, 98 work right here, and 1,006 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Plain City on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
How long Plain City spends getting to work: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plain City workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,722 commuters (the 18% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Plain City
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 Plain City: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Plain City is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #313 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 2,100 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). 2.3% of Plain City households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Plain City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Plain City next to U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,800: 194th of 4,039 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | South Russell OH | 3,913 | $172K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Beechwood Trails OH | 3,133 | $111K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Guilford Township OH | 3,158 | $112K | 0.5% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 192 | Bloomfield Hills MI | 4,390 | $190K | 3.9% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 193 | Scandia MN | 3,979 | $102K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| 194 | Plain City OH | 4,322 | $118K | 3.5% | 2.7% | 4% | A+ |
| 195 | Carlisle MA | 5,286 | $250K | 1.5% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 196 | Highland Beach FL | 4,328 | $145K | 2.3% | 3.5% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,039 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Plain City, 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 Plain City: questions
What is the median household income in Plain City?
$117,972 (±$27,248) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plain City?
3.5%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plain City?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plain City work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (33%, 17 mi), Dublin (10%, 7 mi), Marysville (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plain City walkable?
Plain City is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plain City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Plain City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Plain City
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.