With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Big Lake works elsewhere
Hardly any work in Big Lake; the top destination outside it is Fort Wayne (23%, 22 miles). There are 26 jobs in Big Lake for 216 working residents. 0% of workers work from home; Indiana has 11%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Big Lake, in a few figures
Big Lake is a place people come home to
There are 26 jobs based in Big Lake, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Big Lake has about 260 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Big Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 43 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 330 hours of commuting, 146 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Big Lake and Fort Wayne trade workers both ways
Fort Wayne is the top workplace for Big Lake residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Big Lake come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 216 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Big Lake: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 215 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere.
About 260 people are in Big Lake on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Big Lake: about 43 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Lake workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 271 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The places Big Lake commutes to
Where Big Lake clocks in
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Jobs in Big Lake: what the 26 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Lake, 2013 → 2023: 3 → 26. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Big Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Big Lake commutes
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Big Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Big Lake?
$130,341 (±$74,691) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Lake?
6.3%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Lake?
43 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Lake work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Wayne (23%, 22 mi), Albion (6%, 10 mi), Union Township (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Big Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Lake
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.