Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWork, pay and getting to work in Vandalia
A typical one-way commute lasts 21 minutes, where Ohio has 23 and the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Vandalia is better than 66% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in seven stay in Vandalia for work; outside it, Dayton is the main destination (17%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Vandalia
Vandalia is where the jobs are
Vandalia has 11,638 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Vandalia and Dayton trade workers both ways
Dayton is the top workplace for Vandalia residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Vandalia come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Vandalia draws workers from far and wide
The 11,638 jobs in Vandalia are filled from a wide area. Vandalia’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Vandalia
Job access by car holds Vandalia’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($73,275, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Vandalia could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Vandalia
On a workday 5,928 residents head out to work, 819 work right here, and 10,819 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Vandalia on a workday afternoon, 33% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Vandalia: where workers come from
Where Vandalia clocks in
17% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Making and building: 28% of jobs based in Vandalia
11,638 jobs are based in Vandalia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vandalia, 2013 → 2023: 10,489 → 11,638. 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 Vandalia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Vandalia spends getting to work: 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 Vandalia workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,989 commuters (the 10% 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.
Where in the region Vandalia works
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.
Few in Vandalia walk, bike or ride to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 7,763 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% 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). 4.2% of Vandalia households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Vandalia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Vandalia places 946th of 1,969 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Jerome Township OH | 11,237 | $176K | 0.4% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 944 | Middleton ID | 12,600 | $89K | 7.9% | 4.1% | 7% | B+ |
| 945 | University Heights OH | 13,200 | $97K | 11.1% | 5.3% | 4% | B+ |
| 946 | Vandalia OH | 15,014 | $73K | 9.0% | 3.6% | 12% | B+ |
| 947 | Clemson SC | 18,941 | $50K | 36.0% | 4.5% | 27% | B+ |
| 948 | Green Township OH | 12,277 | $73K | 11.2% | 2.2% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,969 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Vandalia, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
24% of Vandalia works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vandalia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandalia | – | B+ | B+ | 21 min | $73,275 |
| Butler Township | 4% | A− | C+ | 25 min | $93,151 |
| Huber Heights | 3% | B+ | B+ | 23 min | $79,131 |
| Dayton | 17% | C− | A+ | 20 min | $45,247 |
| Bethel Township | under 3% | A | B− | 21 min | $109,849 |
| Harrison Township | under 3% | C− | A | 21 min | $45,125 |
| Monroe Township | under 3% | A− | B | 23 min | $79,243 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Dayton. Darker towns draw more of Vandalia’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 Vandalia: questions
What is the median household income in Vandalia?
$73,275 (±$7,638) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vandalia?
9.0%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vandalia?
21 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vandalia work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dayton (17%, 6 mi), Butler Township (4%, 3 mi), Troy (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Vandalia walkable?
Vandalia is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vandalia without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vandalia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vandalia
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.