Work & commute · Columbus

Work & commute in Columbus, OH

52% of Columbus’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Dublin (4%), Westerville (3%) and Grove City (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

52%

208,833 of 398,442 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 189,609 Columbus residents head out of town to work, 208,833 work right here, and 313,841 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbus.

189,609live here, work elsewhere

208,833live and work here

313,841work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbus goes to work

Columbus (in town)right here

52%208,833

Dublin12.2 mi away

4%16,400

Westerville10.3 mi away

3%11,095

Grove City9.3 mi away

2%8,472

Hilliard9.7 mi away

2%7,412

New Albany13.3 mi away

2%7,287

Gahanna6.6 mi away

2%7,078

Worthington7.9 mi away

1%5,704

Groveport10.2 mi away

1%5,226

Obetz8.6 mi away

1%5,163

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%115,772

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Columbus commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

60%

25%

12%

60%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbus is balanced between jobs and homes

1.31jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbus are

522,674 jobs are based in Columbus. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbus

522,674 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month68%

Jobs Columbus residents hold

398,442 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+12%

Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 466,556 → 522,674. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe 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 saysA 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 surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.