Photo: User:Kgmnmr · CC BY-SA 3.0Hardly anyone in Burns Harbor is out of work
Household incomes here are higher than in 76% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Burns Harbor is better than 85% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (B). Only 2% work in Burns Harbor; the top destination outside it is Chesterton (9%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Burns Harbor, in a few figures
Burns Harbor makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Burns Harbor are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Burns Harbor residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Burns Harbor pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Burns Harbor pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in Burns Harbor are in trade, transport and utilities, against 17% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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 952 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Burns Harbor’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Burns Harbor’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Burns Harbor could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Burns Harbor makes things: 40% of its jobs are in goods
1,199 jobs are based in Burns Harbor.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burns Harbor, 2013 → 2023: 994 → 1,199. 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 Burns Harbor’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Burns Harbor
On a workday 931 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 1,178 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Burns Harbor on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Burns Harbor: the destinations
Where Burns Harbor clocks in
9% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
Burns Harbor’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burns Harbor workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 921 commuters (the 4% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Burns Harbor
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.
In Burns Harbor, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 962 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.0% of Burns Harbor households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Burns Harbor’s commuters take a bus or train.
Burns Harbor is 535th of 5,404 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Meridian Hills IN | 1,800 | $212K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | Galena IN | 1,549 | $128K | 1.8% | 4.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 165 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 533 | Chaplin CT | 2,187 | $98K | 5.4% | 1.4% | 6% | A− |
| 534 | Kelso Township IN | 2,521 | $98K | 5.2% | 2.3% | 7% | A− |
| 535 | Burns Harbor IN | 2,146 | $99K | 11.5% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| 536 | Marriott-Slaterville UT | 2,286 | $102K | 6.5% | 2.6% | 4% | A− |
| 537 | Grafton Township OH | 2,860 | $90K | 3.6% | 3.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Burns Harbor, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
23% of Burns Harbor works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burns Harbor workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burns Harbor | – | A− | B | 25 min | $98,500 |
| Portage | 8% | B− | B− | 27 min | $76,276 |
| Westchester Township | under 4% | B | B+ | 26 min | $83,129 |
| Portage Township | under 4% | B− | C+ | 27 min | $76,594 |
| Dune Acres | under 4% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Chesterton | 9% | B | B+ | 26 min | $91,060 |
| Porter | 6% | B− | C+ | 29 min | $74,542 |
| Liberty Township | under 4% | B+ | C | 32 min | $96,563 |
Same-state neighbors only. Dune Acres: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Chesterton. Darker towns draw more of Burns Harbor’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Burns Harbor: questions
What is the median household income in Burns Harbor?
$98,500 (±$6,808) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burns Harbor?
11.5%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burns Harbor?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burns Harbor work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chesterton (9%, 4 mi), Valparaiso (9%, 10 mi), Portage (8%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burns Harbor walkable?
Burns Harbor is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burns Harbor without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burns Harbor, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burns Harbor
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.