Salem Heights has lower unemployment (1.1%) than 94% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 15.3 in Cincinnati. Jobs and income earn Salem Heights A; getting around on foot earns it A. Hardly any stay in Salem Heights for work; outside it, Cincinnati is the main destination (33%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Salem Heights stands out on work
A lot of Salem Heights works one town over
36% of working residents work in a town that borders Salem Heights: Cincinnati (33%) and Forestville (3%). Next door ↓
Salem Heights is a place people come home to
There are 258 jobs based in Salem Heights, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Salem Heights has about 2,200 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Salem Heights earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Salem Heights is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #162 of 992 in Ohio. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.3%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem Heights could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How a workday changes Salem Heights
On a workday 1,700 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 250 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Salem Heights on a workday afternoon, 40% fewer than live here.
0.15 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Salem Heights: the destinations
Where Salem Heights clocks in
33% of workers
3% 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.
Most jobs in Salem Heights are in services
258 jobs are based in Salem Heights.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem Heights, 2014 → 2024: 322 → 258. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Salem Heights takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem Heights workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,547 commuters (the 20% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Salem Heights
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Salem Heights, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salem Heights is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #57 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Salem Heights 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 1,939 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 60% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 52% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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). 1.3% of Salem Heights households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Salem Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
Salem Heights places 532nd of 4,474 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 530 | Golden Grove SC | 2,913 | $73K | 3.1% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| 531 | Clay Township IN | 3,835 | $101K | 4.0% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| 532 | Salem Heights OH | 3,602 | $94K | 7.3% | 1.1% | <1% | A |
| 533 | Le Claire IA | 4,741 | $105K | 6.8% | 1.8% | 7% | A |
| 534 | DeWitt MI | 4,795 | $110K | 5.6% | 3.1% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,474 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Salem Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
The towns next door employ 36% of Salem Heights
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Heights | – | A | A | 21 min | $93,700 |
| Cincinnati | 33% | C− | A+ | 22 min | $52,909 |
| Fruit Hill | under 2% | A− | B+ | 25 min | $107,254 |
| Forestville | 3% | A− | A− | 24 min | $98,115 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Cincinnati. Darker towns draw more of Salem 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 2024, 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 Salem Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Salem Heights?
$93,700 (±$13,863) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem Heights?
7.3%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem Heights?
21 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem Heights work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (33%, 8 mi), Union Township (3%, 7 mi), Norwood (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Salem Heights walkable?
Salem Heights is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem Heights without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Salem Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Salem Heights
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.