Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWellston’s household incomes are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Wellston itself; outside it, Jackson draws the most (15%, 8 miles). Poverty touches 25.0% of residents, next to 13.3% for Ohio as a whole. Working from home is the commute for 1% of workers; Ohio has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Wellston
Wellston workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 23 across Ohio. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (20 to 31 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Wellston makes and builds things
52% of the jobs based in Wellston are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Wellston residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 30%. The jobs ↓
Few Wellston workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Wellston
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wellston is better than 19% of U.S. towns, #902 of 992 in Ohio. Unemployment holds Wellston’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wellston could be anywhere from D− to B−.
The trip to work from Wellston: about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wellston workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,250 commuters (the 1% 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.
Goods, not services: 52% of the jobs in Wellston
2,089 jobs are based in Wellston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wellston, 2013 → 2023: 2,430 → 2,089. 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 Wellston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Wellston
On a workday 1,325 residents head out to work, 399 work right here, and 1,690 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 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.
The towns that employ Wellston’s residents
Where Wellston clocks in
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.
How far it is to work from Wellston
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.
Few in Wellston walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wellston is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #409 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Wellston 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 2,272 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). 3.1% of Wellston households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wellston’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Wellston ranks: 3,020th of 3,612 U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | The Village of Indian Hill OH | 6,114 | $235K | 3.1% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Pepper Pike OH | 6,886 | $228K | 1.8% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | South Russell OH | 3,913 | $172K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,018 | Port Hadlock-Irondale WA | 3,884 | $84K | 14.8% | 6.8% | 10% | C− |
| 3,019 | Breckenridge Hills MO | 4,350 | $41K | 25.9% | 10.2% | <1% | C− |
| 3,020 | Wellston OH | 5,488 | $56K | 25.0% | 3.5% | 23% | C− |
| 3,021 | Fayetteville TN | 7,068 | $49K | 16.9% | 5.7% | 35% | C− |
| 3,022 | Warm Mineral Springs FL | 4,470 | $54K | 14.7% | 1.3% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Wellston, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Wellston and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wellston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellston | – | C− | B− | 36 min | $56,193 |
| Milton Township | under 2% | — | D− | 20 min | — |
| Coal Township | under 2% | D− | C | 23 min | $55,647 |
| Washington Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Washington Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wellston’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 Wellston: questions
What is the median household income in Wellston?
$56,193 (±$19,350) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wellston?
25.0%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wellston?
36 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wellston work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jackson (15%, 8 mi), Columbus (4%, 65 mi), Lick Township (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wellston walkable?
Wellston is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wellston 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 Wellston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wellston
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.