John and Cynthia Garwood Farmstead · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCenter Township’s household incomes are lower than in 61% of U.S. towns
13.8% of residents are in poverty, where Indiana as a whole has 12.3%. Center Township grades B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in five work in Center Township itself; outside it, La Porte draws the most (29%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Center Township apart on work
Center Township trades workers with the towns around it
Center Township has about as many jobs (9,561) as working residents (10,457), but they are mostly different people: 8,128 residents leave for work each day while 7,232 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in Center Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Center Township and La Porte trade workers both ways
La Porte is the top workplace for Center Township residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Center Township come from (22% 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.
How Center Township earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Center Township is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #343 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Center Township’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Center Township could be anywhere from C to B+.
Who leaves Center Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 8,128 residents head out to work, 2,329 work right here, and 7,232 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 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.
The places Center Township commutes to
Where Center Township clocks in
29% of workers
4% 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 Center Township: what the 9,561 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Center Township, 2013 → 2023: 9,662 → 9,561. 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 Center Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Center Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Center Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,289 commuters (the 6% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Center Township
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Most trips from Center Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Center Township is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #195 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Center Township near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,997 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). 7.0% of Center Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Center Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Center Township is 1,056th of 1,516 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 34,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | St. John IN | 24,841 | $131K | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Zionsville IN | 33,624 | $172K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Vernon Township IN | 20,047 | $108K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,054 | West Rancho Dominguez CA | 23,300 | $87K | 15.0% | 11.4% | 4% | B− |
| 1,055 | San Pablo CA | 31,678 | $79K | 12.6% | 8.5% | 5% | B− |
| 1,056 | Center Township IN | 25,168 | $68K | 13.8% | 3.5% | 22% | B− |
| 1,057 | Badger AK | 18,677 | $97K | 4.2% | 7.1% | — | B− |
| 1,058 | Socastee SC | 23,796 | $62K | 12.6% | 3.5% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,516 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Center Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
How Center Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Coolspring Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Center Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | – | B− | B | 22 min | $68,142 |
| Coolspring Township | 2% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $61,875 |
| Scipio Township | under 2% | B− | C | 30 min | $78,269 |
| Springfield Township | under 2% | A− | D | 28 min | $85,313 |
| Kankakee Township | under 2% | B | D | 28 min | $109,426 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Center Township’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 Center Township: questions
What is the median household income in Center Township?
$68,142 (±$6,032) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Center Township?
13.8%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Center Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Center Township work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are La Porte (29%, 3 mi), Michigan City (12%, 7 mi), South Bend (4%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Center Township walkable?
Center Township is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Center Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Center Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Center Township
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.