Household incomes in Silver Lake top those of 93% of U.S. towns
Only 2% stay in Silver Lake for work; outside it, Akron is the main destination (23%, 6 miles). 2.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.3% across Ohio. The two grades for Silver Lake are A+ for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Silver Lake stands out on work
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Silver Lake’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 26 minutes, longer than the Ohio average of 23. Time on the road ↓
Silver Lake is a place people come home to
There are 248 jobs based in Silver Lake, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Silver Lake has about 1,600 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Silver Lake’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Silver Lake is among the top U.S. towns, #10 of 992 in Ohio. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Silver Lake’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Silver Lake could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 26 minutes to work from Silver Lake
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Silver Lake workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,107 commuters (the 15% 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.
Silver Lake on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,148 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 221 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Silver Lake on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.21 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Silver Lake work
Where Silver Lake clocks in
23% of workers
9% 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 the 248 jobs in Silver Lake are
248 jobs are based in Silver Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Silver Lake, 2013 → 2023: 184 → 248. 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 Silver Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Silver Lake
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.
Driving is how Silver Lake gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Silver Lake is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns, #624 of 993 in Ohio. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 1,305 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.1% of Silver Lake households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Silver Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Silver Lake next to U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,400: 32nd of 4,868 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| 31 | Herald Harbor MD | 2,430 | $148K | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| 32 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 33 | Bartonville TX | 1,937 | $149K | 4.3% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 34 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Trenton Township OH | 2,538 | $137K | 1.4% | 0.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,868 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Silver Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
The towns next door employ 15% of Silver Lake
The biggest share goes to Cuyahoga Falls (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Silver Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Lake | – | A+ | C | 26 min | $139,934 |
| Cuyahoga Falls | 9% | B+ | B− | 22 min | $72,705 |
| Stow | 6% | A− | B | 24 min | $93,727 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Silver Lake’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 Silver Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Silver Lake?
$139,934 (±$28,865) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Silver Lake?
2.9%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Silver Lake?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Silver Lake work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Akron (23%, 6 mi), Cuyahoga Falls (9%, 5 mi), Stow (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Silver Lake walkable?
Silver Lake is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Silver Lake without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Silver Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Silver Lake
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.