Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0Spencer has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Employers in Spencer report 125 jobs; 267 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Spencer; the top destination outside it is Cleveland (16%, 35 miles). Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers, next to 13% for Ohio as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Spencer apart on work
Spencer’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Spencer is Cleveland, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (44) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Spencer workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 23 across Ohio. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 267 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Spencer’s commute, mile by mile
About 15% 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.
How long Spencer spends getting to work: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spencer workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 282 commuters (the 6% 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.
Who leaves Spencer for work, and who comes in
On a workday 265 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 123 people come in from elsewhere.
About 560 people are in Spencer on a workday afternoon, 20% 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.
Where people from Spencer work
Where Spencer clocks in
16% of workers
9% 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.
A place that makes things: 34% of Spencer’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spencer, 2013 → 2023: 129 → 125. 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 Spencer’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Work in the towns next to Spencer
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spencer workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer | – | — | — | 30 min | $73,542 |
| Spencer Township | under 2% | A+ | D− | 39 min | $104,637 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Spencer’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 Spencer: questions
What is the median household income in Spencer?
$73,542 (±$19,948) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spencer?
10.7%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spencer?
30 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spencer work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cleveland (16%, 35 mi), Medina (9%, 13 mi), Wadsworth (3%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Spencer without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spencer, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spencer
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.