Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Households in Springfield earn less than those in 91% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Springfield for work; outside it, Columbus is the main destination (5%, 43 miles). Below the poverty line: 23.1% of residents; Ohio has 13.3%. Jobs and income earn Springfield C−; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Springfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Springfield is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #925 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Springfield’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (9.4%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Springfield could be anywhere from D to C−.
How a workday changes Springfield
On a workday 14,945 residents head out to work, 7,798 work right here, and 21,442 people come in from elsewhere.
About 65,000 people are in Springfield on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 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.
Where Springfield’s working residents head each day
Where Springfield clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
What the 29,240 jobs in Springfield are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 28,968 → 29,240. 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 Springfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Springfield: 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 Springfield workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,759 commuters (the 7% 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.
How far Springfield’s workers travel
About 16% 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.
In Springfield, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Springfield is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #134 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Springfield 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 23,452 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). 12.5% of Springfield households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Springfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 41,000 to 79,000, and where Springfield sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Dublin OH | 49,094 | $160K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Washington Township OH | 51,915 | $148K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Liberty Township OH | 45,723 | $148K | 3.8% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 724 | Rocky Mount NC | 55,120 | $56K | 19.7% | 8.0% | 33% | C− |
| 725 | Wilson NC | 49,572 | $52K | 23.0% | 6.7% | 40% | C− |
| 726 | Springfield OH | 58,281 | $47K | 23.1% | 9.4% | 34% | C− |
| 727 | Gary IN | 67,289 | $39K | 33.1% | 11.0% | 18% | C− |
| 728 | Porterville CA | 63,088 | $60K | 17.3% | 10.1% | 31% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 749 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Springfield, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Next door to Springfield
The biggest share goes to Moorefield Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Springfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | – | C− | A− | 21 min | $47,143 |
| Springfield Township | 2% | A− | C− | 24 min | $88,180 |
| Moorefield Township | 3% | B+ | C− | 26 min | $85,583 |
| German Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 28 min | $73,617 |
| Mad River Township | under 2% | B+ | D | 24 min | $83,700 |
| Northridge | under 2% | B | D | 23 min | $84,974 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Springfield’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 Springfield: questions
What is the median household income in Springfield?
$47,143 (±$2,846) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Springfield?
23.1%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Springfield?
21 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Springfield work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (5%, 43 mi), Dayton (4%, 24 mi), Moorefield Township (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Springfield walkable?
Springfield is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Springfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Springfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Springfield
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.