Work & commute · Wooster

Work & commute in Wooster, OH

About one in 3 of Wooster’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Orrville (4%), Wooster (4%) and Akron (3%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39%

4,307 of 11,100 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 6,793 Wooster residents head out of town to work, 4,307 work right here, and 15,896 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wooster.

6,793live here, work elsewhere

4,307live and work here

15,896work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wooster goes to work

Wooster (in town)right here

39%4,307

Orrville8.3 mi away

4%499

Wooster3.3 mi away

4%449

Akron28 mi away

3%329

Cleveland47.4 mi away

2%238

Ashland20.3 mi away

2%231

Columbus80 mi away

2%226

Jackson23.8 mi away

1%148

East Union6.9 mi away

1%124

Plain6.7 mi away

1%120

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%4,429

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

How far

How far Wooster commutes

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

52%

16%

17%

14%

52%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wooster is a job hub

1.82jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Wooster are

20,203 jobs are based in Wooster. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wooster’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wooster

20,203 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Wooster residents hold

11,100 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+8%

Jobs based in Wooster, 2013 → 2023: 18,622 → 20,203. 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.