Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Wells Township have lower incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
18.2% of residents live below the poverty line, where Ohio as a whole has 13.3%. Jobs and income earn Wells Township D; getting around on foot earns it C+. Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers (Ohio 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Wells Township apart on work
Stores, warehouses and trucking
78% of the jobs in Wells Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Wells Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
78% of the jobs based in Wells Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 46% of the jobs Wells Township residents hold. 93% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Wells Township. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Wells Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Wells Township fell from 1,063 in 2013 to 598 in 2023, −44%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 928 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Wells Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wells Township is better than 11% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Wells Township’s grade up (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($48,977, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wells Township could be anywhere from D− to B−.
78% of the jobs in Wells Township pay over $3,333 a month
598 jobs are based in Wells Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wells Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,063 → 598. 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 Wells Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Wells Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 886 residents head out to work, 42 work right here, and 556 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Wells Township on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
17% of working residents work in Steubenville
Where Wells Township clocks in
17% of workers
5% 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.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Wells Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wells Township workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,022 commuters (the 5% 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 many miles Wells Township commutes
About 23% 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.
Most trips from Wells Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wells Township is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, the same share as across Ohio, on an EPA index of 4.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,075 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). 10.0% of Wells Township households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wells Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,995 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200, Wells Township comes 4,268th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,266 | Blountsville AL | 1,816 | $48K | 17.1% | 3.5% | 9% | D |
| 4,267 | Spiro OK | 2,230 | $42K | 20.6% | 6.5% | 10% | D |
| 4,268 | Wells Township OH | 2,377 | $49K | 18.2% | 5.3% | 5% | D |
| 4,269 | West Salem Township PA | 3,177 | $55K | 13.3% | 18.3% | 5% | D |
| 4,270 | Middleport OH | 2,103 | $42K | 23.0% | 4.2% | 8% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | 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 Wells Township, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Wells Township and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Cross Creek Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wells Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Township | – | D | C+ | 26 min | $48,977 |
| Warren Township | under 2% | C− | B+ | 28 min | $54,804 |
| Steubenville Township | under 2% | D | C− | 20 min | $53,043 |
| Cross Creek Township | 2% | B | C− | 25 min | $72,003 |
| Smithfield Township | under 2% | D | D | 33 min | $57,718 |
| New Alexandria | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. New Alexandria: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wells Township’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 Wells Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wells Township?
$48,977 (±$11,835) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wells Township?
18.2%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wells Township?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wells Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Steubenville (17%, 7 mi), Weirton (6%, 12 mi), Wheeling (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wells Township walkable?
Wells Township is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wells Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wells Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wells Township
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.