Work & commute · Lake

Work & commute in Lake, OH

About one in 5 of Lake’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Bellefontaine (26%), Allen (7%) and Perry (7%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21%

1,210 of 5,672 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,462 Lake residents head out of town to work, 1,210 work right here, and 4,961 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lake.

4,462live here, work elsewhere

1,210live and work here

4,961work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lake goes to work

Bellefontaine1 mi away

26%1,493

Allen16.5 mi away

7%410

Perry9.7 mi away

7%371

Marysville24 mi away

6%317

Columbus48.5 mi away

4%249

Zane11 mi away

2%126

Urbana18.3 mi away

2%92

Washington7.9 mi away

2%88

Liberty14.5 mi away

1%83

Findlay46.9 mi away

1%81

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%2,362

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

How far

How far Lake commutes

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

33%

31%

23%

13%

33%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lake 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 Lake are

6,171 jobs are based in Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lake

6,171 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Lake residents hold

5,672 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

−12%

Jobs based in Lake, 2013 → 2023: 7,025 → 6,171. 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.