Photo: EncMstr · CC BY-SA 4.0At 10.7%, unemployment in Dayton is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Dayton are C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.6 in Portland. Only 2% work in Dayton; the top destination outside it is McMinnville (18%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Dayton in brief
Dayton and McMinnville trade workers both ways
McMinnville is the top workplace for Dayton residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Dayton come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Dayton is a place people come home to
There are 304 jobs based in Dayton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Dayton has about 1,700 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Dayton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. 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.
Dayton’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dayton is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #94 of 142 in Oregon. Household income holds Dayton’s grade up ($91,184, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dayton could be anywhere from D to B.
Where Dayton’s working residents head each day
Where Dayton clocks in
18% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Dayton
On a workday 1,236 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 276 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Dayton on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.24 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.
Dayton’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dayton workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,058 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 80% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
What work there is in Dayton: 304 jobs
304 jobs are based in Dayton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dayton, 2013 → 2023: 250 → 304. 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 Dayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Dayton, by distance
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.
Dayton is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dayton is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #59 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Dayton 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 1,244 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 1.5% of Dayton households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Dayton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Dayton places 3,060th of 4,797 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 203 | Hubbard OR | 3,399 | $102K | 3.6% | 1.6% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 326 | Millersburg OR | 3,583 | $125K | 5.1% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 741 | North Plains OR | 3,414 | $118K | 2.9% | 6.4% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,058 | Lyme NY | 2,199 | $81K | 11.3% | 4.2% | 16% | C |
| 3,059 | Ellis KS | 1,917 | $73K | 21.2% | 2.5% | 15% | C |
| 3,060 | Dayton OR | 2,647 | $91K | 13.7% | 10.7% | 2% | C |
| 3,061 | Croghan NY | 3,178 | $72K | 14.4% | 2.8% | 10% | C |
| 3,062 | Summerhill Township PA | 2,231 | $58K | 9.3% | 2.5% | 5% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Dayton, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
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 Dayton: questions
What is the median household income in Dayton?
$91,184 (±$27,357) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dayton?
13.7%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dayton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dayton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McMinnville (18%, 6 mi), Newberg (8%, 8 mi), Salem (8%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dayton walkable?
Dayton is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dayton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dayton
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.