Oberlin is a somewhat small city located in the state of Ohio. With a population of 7,721 people and two associated neighborhoods, Oberlin is the 196th largest community in Ohio.Oberlin is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 85.89% 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 (16.49%), office and administrative support (11.10%), and food service (7.84%). 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. Also of interest is that Oberlin has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 11.11% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Oberlin area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Oberlin maintain a good 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 18.33 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. 53.94% 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 $28,443, which is lower middle income relative to Ohio and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $113,772 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.
