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Work & commute in Ohio · Balanced

96% of Ohio’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Ohio for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Wichita (48%), Riverside (8%) and Derby (7%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Work in town
4%
36 of 959 working residents
Typical commute
11 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
26 min
More than KS (20 min)
Work from home
8%
Less than KS (12%)
Jobs based here
1,082
Balanced

What kind of work town is Ohio?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

48% of working residents work in Wichita

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Belle PlaineClearwaterRose HillMulvane: 9 residents work here (1%)Haysville: 46 residents work here (5%)Park City: 12 residents work here (1%)Derby: 65 residents work here (7%)Hutchinson: 10 residents work here (1%)Wichita: 462 residents work here (48%)Overland Park: 18 residents work here (2%)NinnescahOhioIllinoisWaco: 53 residents work here (6%)Riverside: 74 residents work here (8%)Salem: 11 residents work here (1%)LondonWichitaRiversideDerbyWacoHaysvilleOverland ParkOhio
1
Wichita12.1 mi away
48%462
2
Riverside8.5 mi away
8%74
3
Derby9.5 mi away
7%65
4
Waco5.3 mi away
6%53
5
Haysville4.8 mi away
5%46
6
Overland Park175.8 mi away
2%18
7
Park City20.4 mi away
1%12
8
Salem5.9 mi away
1%11
9
Hutchinson45.8 mi away
1%10
10
Mulvane10.8 mi away
1%9
Everywhere elseother towns and states
21%199
The top trips

Where Ohio clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of Kansas

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
199 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Ohio26 min
Kansas20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
8%

of Ohio workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 923 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 1,046 people come in from elsewhere.

923live here, work elsewhere
36live and work here
1,046work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night2,200
Workday2,300
2,200live here− 920head out to work+ 1,000come in to work= 2,300on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.13jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 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.

How far

Half of Ohio commutes less than 11 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miWichita: 48% · 12.1 miRiverside: 8% · 8.5 miDerby: 7% · 9.5 miWaco: 6% · 5.3 miHaysville: 5% · 4.8 miOverland Park: 2% · 175.8 miPark City: 1% · 20.4 miSalem: 1% · 5.9 miHutchinson: 1% · 45.8 miMulvane: 1% · 10.8 miWichita 48%Riverside 8%Derby 7%Waco 6%Ohio
OhioTop destinations (size = commuters)
43%Under 10 mi412 residents
40%10–24 mi387 residents
4%25–50 mi39 residents
12%Over 50 mi119 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

1,082 jobs are based in Ohio. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ohio’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in OhioJobs Ohio residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms4%31%
Trade, transport & utilities5%17%
Services: health, schools, offices91%52%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less13%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month35%26%
Over $3,333 a month52%61%

Who does it

29 or younger11%19%
30 to 5460%50%
55 and older29%31%
+7%

Jobs based in Ohio, 2013 → 2023: 1,012 → 1,082. 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.

Next door

Ohio and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Waco (6%). Darker towns draw more of Ohio’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.
  • Where the employer says. A job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.
  • Two surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Ohio

Ohio home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Ohio, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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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.

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