Oberlin is a somewhat small city located in the state of Ohio. With a population of 7,697 people and two associated neighborhoods, Oberlin is the 196th largest community in Ohio.Oberlin is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 85.14% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Oberlin is a city of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Oberlin who work in teaching (15.87%), office and administrative support (10.83%), and food service (9.14%). Of important note, Oberlin is also a city of artists. Oberlin has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Oberlin’s character. A relatively large number of people in Oberlin telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.23% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Oberlin is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Oberlin to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Oberlin spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.88 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Oberlin. 54.60% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Oberlin in 2022 was $30,601, which is middle income relative to Ohio, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $122,404 for a family of four. However, Oberlin contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Oberlin is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Oberlin home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Oberlin residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Oberlin include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Oberlin is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
