Work & commute · Kent

Work & commute in Kent, OH

Most working residents leave Kent for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Akron (10%), Cleveland (7%) and Stow (3%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

1,426 of 9,958 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,532 Kent residents head out of town to work, 1,426 work right here, and 9,456 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kent.

8,532live here, work elsewhere

1,426live and work here

9,456work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kent goes to work

Kent (in town)right here

14%1,426

Akron9.3 mi away

10%968

Cleveland28.2 mi away

7%664

Stow4.3 mi away

3%342

Cuyahoga Falls10.1 mi away

3%308

Hudson7.6 mi away

3%288

Ravenna6.5 mi away

2%247

Streetsboro6.6 mi away

2%244

Columbus116.9 mi away

2%215

Aurora10.9 mi away

2%208

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%5,048

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

How far

How far Kent commutes

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

43%

26%

20%

11%

43%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

11%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kent is balanced between jobs and homes

1.09jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Kent are

10,882 jobs are based in Kent. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kent’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kent

10,882 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Kent residents hold

9,958 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+6%

Jobs based in Kent, 2013 → 2023: 10,221 → 10,882. 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.