Wooster, OH

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

2024 Population

116,588

US Senator

Bernie Moreno

Republican Party

US Senator

Jon Husted

Republican Party

2024 Poverty Rate

9.41%

7.72% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$73,574

2.52% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$222,100

8.55% 1-year growth

Population & Diversity

Wooster, OH is home to a population of 117k people, from which 98.5% are citizens.

As of 2024, 2.45% of Wooster, OH residents were born outside of the country (2.86k people).

In 2024, there were 48.6 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (108k people) in Wooster, OH than any other race or ethnicity. There were 2.22k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 1.36k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.5%

2024 Citizenship

98.4%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.5% of Wooster, OH residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Wooster, OH was 98.4%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Wooster, OH compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Wooster, OH

White (Non-Hispanic)
108k ± 306
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
2.22k ± 361
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
1.36k ± 285

2.47%

Hispanic Population

2.89k people

2.47% of the people in Wooster, OH are hispanic (2.89k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Wooster, OH as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Ohio.

Most Common Origin

India
66,921 ± 6,333 people
Mexico
46,789 ± 5,300 people
China
32,961 ± 4,451 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Ohio was India, the natal country of 66,921 Ohio residents, followed by Mexico with 46,789 and China with 32,961.

Foreign-Born Population

2.45%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

2.86k people

2.36%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

2.75k people

As of 2024, 2.45% of Wooster, OH residents (2.86k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Wooster, OH was 2.36%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Wooster, OH compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
2,048 ± 219
Gulf War (2001-)
959 ± 227
Gulf War (1990s)
808 ± 209

Wooster, OH has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.14 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Wooster, OH.

Economy

The economy of Wooster, OH employs 54.1k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Wooster, OH were Manufacturing (12,457 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (6,798 people), and Retail Trade (6,021 people), and the highest paying industries were Management of Companies & Enterprises ($99,063), Utilities ($94,160), and Public Administration ($66,372).

Employment

Occupations

54.1k

2024 Value

± 1,583

−1.7%

1 Year decline

± 4.23%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Wooster, OH declined at a rate of −1.7%, from 55k employees to 54.1k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Wooster, OH, are Production Occupations (6,657 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (5,925 people), and Management Occupations (4,792 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Wooster, OH.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Ohio.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Ohio (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

54.1k

2024 Value

± 1,583

−1.7%

1 Year decline

± 4.23%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Wooster, OH declined at a rate of −1.7%, from 55k employees to 54.1k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Wooster, OH, are Manufacturing (12,457 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (6,798 people), and Retail Trade (6,021 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Wooster, OH, though some of these residents may live in Wooster, OH and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$54,932

Median earning men ± $1,733

$32,371

Median earning women ± $1,173

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Public Administration ($78,634), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($67,473), and Information ($65,385).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($62,750), Public Administration ($50,789), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($49,576).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Ohio.

Y-Axis

1.48%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 5.51M people employed in Ohio. This represents a 1.48% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 15.4%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Ohio.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

226
Construction
164
Other Services (except Public Administration)
128
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$780k
Manufacturing
$295k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$168k
Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

The student population of Wooster, OH in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 1,634 male students and 2,154 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Wooster, OH are White (667 and 81.9%), Black or African American (45 and 5.53%), Hispanic or Latino (39 and 4.79%), and Two or More Races (29 and 3.56%).

The largest universities in Wooster, OH by number of degrees awarded are The College of Wooster (485 and 55.4%), Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (156 and 17.8%), and Wayne County Schools Career Center (120 and 13.7%).

The most popular majors in Wooster, OH are Liberal Arts & Sciences (52 and 5.94%), Nursing Assistant & Patient Care Assistant (43 and 4.91%), and Other Research & Experimental Psychology (37 and 4.23%).

The median tuition costs are $61,120 for private four year colleges, and $6,988 and $14,668 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Wooster, OH, the percentage of applicants admitted was 61.5%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 14.2%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 3,788 (43.1% men and 56.9% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 3,788 students enrolled in Wooster, OH, 43.1% men and 56.9% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 2,848 records, of which 58.6% were women and 41.4% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Other Research & Experimental Psychology
37 degrees awarded
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
36 degrees awarded
General Biological Sciences
32 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Wooster, OH was Other Research & Experimental Psychology with 37 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Wooster, OH according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

The College of Wooster
485 degrees awarded
Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute
156 degrees awarded
Wayne County Schools Career Center
120 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was The College of Wooster with 485 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 348 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Wooster, OH, which is 0.66 times less than the 527 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 667 degrees mean that there were 14.8 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 45 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($61,120) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($735) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,250) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Wooster, OH was $222,100 in 2024, which is 0.668 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $204,600 to $222,100, a 8.55% increase. The homeownership rate in Wooster, OH is 76.6%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Wooster, OH have an average commute time of 20.6 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Wooster, OH is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$222,100

Median Property Value 2024

±$4,236

$33,965

Median Property Taxes

±$1,129

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Wooster, OH the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Wooster, OH compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

76.6%

Homeownership

2024

63.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 76.6% of the housing units in Wooster, OH were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 76.1%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Wooster, OH compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$73,574

Median Household Income

± $2,496

44.4k

Number of Households

± 1,361

In 2024, the median household income of the 44.4k households in Wooster, OH grew to $73,574 from the previous year's value of $71,769.

The following chart displays the households in Wooster, OH distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Wooster, OH is from Ohio.

0.451

2024 Wage GINI in Ohio

0.453

2023 Wage GINI in Ohio

In 2024, the income inequality in Ohio was 0.451 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.564% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Ohio was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Ohio in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Ohio across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (72.9%)
Carpooled (10.3%)
Worked At Home (8.3%)

In 2024, 72.9% of workers in Wooster, OH drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (10.3%) and those who worked at home (8.3%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

20.6 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Wooster, OH have a shorter commute time (20.6 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.73% of the workforce in Wooster, OH have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Wooster, OH compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Wooster, OH distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Wooster, OH have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

9.41% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Wooster, OH (10.6k out of 112k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 55 - 64, followed by Females 65 - 74 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Wooster, OH is White, followed by Two Or More and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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