Most of Lorain commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Commuters spend 35 minutes getting to work on average; the Wisconsin average is 22, the U.S. 26. There are 30 jobs in Lorain for 122 working residents. Hardly any work in Lorain itself; outside it, Frederic draws the most (8%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Lorain
On a workday 121 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 29 people come in from elsewhere.
About 220 people are in Lorain on a workday afternoon, 29% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Lorain’s residents
Where Lorain clocks in
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.
In Lorain, 53% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lorain, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 30. 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 Lorain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Lorain spends getting to work: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lorain workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 113 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 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 Lorain commutes
About 35% 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.
Lorain and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lorain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorain | – | — | — | 35 min | $75,750 |
| La Follette | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| McKinley | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Clam Falls | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Roosevelt | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Dewey | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. La Follette, McKinley, Clam Falls, Roosevelt and Dewey: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lorain’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 Lorain: questions
What is the median household income in Lorain?
$75,750 (±$14,999) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lorain?
3.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lorain?
35 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lorain work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Frederic (8%, 12 mi), Luck (8%, 14 mi), West Sweden (8%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lorain without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lorain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lorain
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.