Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSandusky’s household incomes are lower than in 88% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 11.7 in Cleveland. The poverty rate is 25.6%, where Ohio as a whole has 13.3%. Sandusky grades D 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
Work and commuting in Sandusky, in brief
Sandusky trades workers with the towns around it
Sandusky has about as many jobs (10,256) as working residents (10,864), but they are mostly different people: 8,156 residents leave for work each day while 7,548 people come in. Only 26% of the jobs in Sandusky are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Sandusky are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Ohio. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Ohio worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Sandusky 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Sandusky
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sandusky is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #943 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Sandusky’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sandusky could be anywhere from D to C−.
The daily flow of workers through Sandusky
On a workday 8,156 residents head out to work, 2,708 work right here, and 7,548 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 18 minutes each way, quicker than most of Ohio
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sandusky workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,207 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.
14% of working residents work in Perkins Township
Where Sandusky clocks in
14% of workers
6% 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 work there is in Sandusky: 10,256 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sandusky, 2013 → 2023: 10,472 → 10,256. 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 Sandusky’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Sandusky to work
About 22% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Sandusky
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sandusky is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #10 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Sandusky 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 11,642 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 54% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% 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). 11.4% of Sandusky households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Sandusky’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Sandusky sits among U.S. towns of 17,000 to 32,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| 4 | Powell OH | 18,269 | $195K | 1.1% | 2.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Hudson OH | 23,085 | $171K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Genoa Township OH | 27,720 | $177K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,524 | Cumberland MD | 18,799 | $48K | 25.1% | 6.3% | 35% | D |
| 1,525 | Port Huron MI | 28,273 | $50K | 22.6% | 8.9% | 23% | D |
| 1,526 | Sandusky OH | 24,001 | $50K | 25.6% | 7.8% | 25% | D |
| 1,527 | Texarkana AR | 29,123 | $46K | 25.8% | 7.5% | 27% | D |
| 1,528 | Chaparral NM | 18,186 | $46K | 27.4% | 6.3% | 7% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,577 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Sandusky, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
23% of Sandusky works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Perkins Township (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sandusky workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandusky | – | D | A+ | 18 min | $50,139 |
| Margaretta Township | 6% | C+ | C− | 24 min | $78,333 |
| Huron Township | 3% | B | C+ | 24 min | $88,204 |
| Perkins Township | 14% | A− | B+ | 17 min | $76,659 |
| Danbury Township | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 26 min | $75,575 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sandusky’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 Sandusky: questions
What is the median household income in Sandusky?
$50,139 (±$4,452) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sandusky?
25.6%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sandusky?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sandusky work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Perkins Township (14%, 4 mi), Margaretta Township (6%, 6 mi), Huron Township (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sandusky walkable?
Sandusky is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sandusky without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 54% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sandusky, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sandusky
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.