Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0West Lafayette has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Household incomes here are lower than in 89% of U.S. towns. 451 jobs are based in West Lafayette, against 978 working residents. For jobs and income West Lafayette is better than 18% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (B).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in West Lafayette, in a few figures
West Lafayette and Coshocton trade workers both ways
Coshocton is the top workplace for West Lafayette residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in West Lafayette come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few West Lafayette workers work from home
Only 2% 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 978 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where West Lafayette’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Unemployment holds West Lafayette’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (31.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Lafayette could be anywhere from D to C+.
Out of West Lafayette to work: where people go
Where West Lafayette clocks in
18% of workers
6% 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.
Commuting from West Lafayette: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Lafayette workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,281 commuters (the 2% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of West Lafayette
On a workday 911 residents head out to work, 67 work right here, and 384 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in West Lafayette on a workday afternoon, 22% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Jobs in West Lafayette: what the 451 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Lafayette, 2014 → 2024: 558 → 451. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Lafayette’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from West Lafayette
About 26% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
West Lafayette is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 1,301 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). 5.8% of West Lafayette households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Lafayette’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, West Lafayette is 4,049th among 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | 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% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,047 | South Jacksonville IL | 3,195 | $50K | 9.0% | 15.8% | 4% | C− |
| 4,048 | Hiawatha KS | 3,124 | $69K | 14.7% | 6.2% | 36% | C− |
| 4,049 | West Lafayette OH | 2,430 | $49K | 31.7% | 3.2% | 7% | C− |
| 4,050 | Florida Township IN | 2,324 | $54K | 14.3% | 5.5% | 3% | C− |
| 4,051 | Auberry CA | 3,240 | $79K | 11.8% | 8.6% | 7% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 West Lafayette, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 West Lafayette: questions
What is the median household income in West Lafayette?
$49,261 (±$12,189) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Lafayette?
31.7%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Lafayette?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Lafayette work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Coshocton (18%, 5 mi), Columbus (6%, 68 mi), Tuscarawas Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Lafayette walkable?
West Lafayette is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Lafayette without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Lafayette, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Lafayette
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.