Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Work and commuting in Center Township
For jobs and income Center Township is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (A−). About one in four stay in Center Township for work; outside it, Valparaiso is the main destination (29%, 1 miles). The trip to work takes 25 minutes on average (Indiana 24, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Center Township, in a few figures
The quickest commute around
Center Township’s 25-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 32 to 34 minutes. Next door ↓
Center Township trades workers with the towns around it
Center Township has about as many jobs (21,286) as working residents (20,202), but they are mostly different people: 14,690 residents leave for work each day while 15,774 people come in. Only 26% of the jobs in Center Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Center Township and Valparaiso trade workers both ways
Valparaiso is the top workplace for Center Township residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Center Township 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Center Township
Job access by car holds Center Township’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Center Township could be anywhere from B− to A−.
How a workday changes Center Township
On a workday 14,690 residents head out to work, 5,512 work right here, and 15,774 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 (1.05 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.
Out of Center Township to work: where people go
Where Center Township clocks in
29% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
Inside Center Township’s 21,286 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Center Township, 2013 → 2023: 21,316 → 21,286. 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.
How long Center Township spends getting to work: 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 Center Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,573 commuters (the 10% 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 distance from Center Township to work
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Center Township
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 22,973 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). 4.2% 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.
For jobs and income, Center Township is 524th of 941 U.S. towns of 33,000 to 64,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Zionsville IN | 33,624 | $172K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Washington Township IN | 62,740 | $100K | 4.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 522 | Concord NH | 44,597 | $85K | 8.9% | 4.1% | 36% | B |
| 523 | Owasso OK | 43,117 | $79K | 7.3% | 5.4% | 14% | B |
| 524 | Center Township IN | 47,315 | $80K | 11.0% | 3.6% | 27% | B |
| 525 | Woodland CA | 62,513 | $90K | 8.2% | 5.8% | 25% | B |
| 526 | Marietta GA | 63,574 | $73K | 12.8% | 3.8% | 13% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 941 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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.
Center Township and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Center Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | – | B | A− | 25 min | $80,022 |
| Liberty Township | under 3% | B+ | C | 32 min | $96,563 |
| Washington Township | under 3% | A | C− | 34 min | $109,879 |
| Union Township | under 3% | A− | D | 32 min | $115,664 |
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?
$80,022 (±$5,831) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Center Township?
11.0%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Center Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Center Township work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Valparaiso (29%, 1 mi), Merrillville (5%, 13 mi), Portage (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Center Township walkable?
Center Township is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Center Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% 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.