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Jobs & commute in Center Township

More people are out of work in Center Township (8.2%) than in 89% of U.S. towns

About one in five work in Center Township itself; outside it, Lafayette draws the most (17%, 27 miles). Center Township grades D for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

Getting to work from Center Township, in brief

Center Township’s biggest commute is a long one

The top workplace outside Center Township is Lafayette, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (224) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓

Few Center Township workers work from home

Only 4% of workers work from home, against 11% across Indiana. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓

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.

Jobs & income grade

Jobs & income in Center Township: the grade in detail

On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Center Township is better than 9% of U.S. towns, #582 of 593 in Indiana. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Center Township’s grade.

Household income $52,907 (±$5,666) · IN $71,957 · U.S. $80,734Higher than 16% of U.S. towns
Poverty 16.2% · IN 12.3% · U.S. 12.5%Lower than 24% of U.S. towns
Unemployment 8.2% (±5.2) · IN 4.3% · U.S. 5.2%Lower than 11% of U.S. towns
Job access by car EPA, jobs within a 45-minute driveMore than 22% of U.S. towns
Indiana towns we grade 593 towns#582 of 593
D−C+

A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Center Township could be anywhere from D− to C+.

How TownRatings grades jobs & income →

★ What stands out · How far

How many miles Center Township commutes

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miLafayette: 17% · 26.6 miFowler: 15% · 1.7 miWest Lafayette: 11% · 22.3 miIndianapolis: 8% · 83.1 miOtterbein: 2% · 13.4 miKentland: 2% · 14.4 miUnion Township: 1% · 6 miRensselaer: 1% · 25.2 miKokomo: 1% · 61.9 miLafayette 17%Fowler 15%West Lafayette 11%Indianapolis 8%Otterbein 2%Center Township
Center TownshipTop destinations (size = commuters)
26%Under 10 mi333 residents
24%10–24 mi302 residents
24%25–50 mi302 residents
27%Over 50 mi346 residents

About 27% 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.

Time on the road

Getting to work from Center Township takes about 25 minutes

A year of commuting
193 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Center Township25 min
Indiana24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
4%

of Center Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Center Township gets to work
86%Drive alone
11%Carpool
3%Other

Share of the 982 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.

Day and night

Center Township on a workday afternoon

On a workday 1,003 residents head out to work, 282 work right here, and 633 people come in from elsewhere.

1,003live here, work elsewhere
282live and work here
633work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night2,800
Workday2,400
2,800live here− 1,000head out to work+ 630come in to work= 2,400on a workday

About 2,400 people are in Center Township on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.71jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.71 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

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 commute map

Where the trip to work from Center Township ends

OxfordEarl ParkBoswellOtterbein: 26 residents work here (2%)Kentland: 25 residents work here (2%)Fowler: 198 residents work here (15%)Rensselaer: 16 residents work here (1%)West Lafayette: 146 residents work here (11%)Kokomo: 16 residents work here (1%)Lafayette: 224 residents work here (17%)Parish Grove TownshipUnion Township: 17 residents work here (1%)Center TownshipGrant TownshipOak Grove TownshipRichland TownshipPine TownshipWabash TownshipIndianapolis: 102 residents work here (8%)LafayetteFowlerWest LafayetteIndianapolisOtterbeinKentlandCenter Township
1
Lafayette26.6 mi away
17%224
2
Fowler1.7 mi away
15%198
3
West Lafayette22.3 mi away
11%146
4
Indianapolis83.1 mi away
8%102
5
Center Township (in town)right here
7%84
6
Otterbein13.4 mi away
2%26
7
Kentland14.4 mi away
2%25
81%17
9
Rensselaer25.2 mi away
1%16
10
Kokomo61.9 mi away
1%16
Everywhere elseother towns and states
34%431
The top trips

Where Center Township clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

The 915 jobs based in Center Township

915 jobs are based in Center Township.

Jobs based in Center TownshipJobs Center Township residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms23%31%
Trade, transport & utilities17%17%
Services: health, schools, offices60%52%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less19%14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month31%29%
Over $3,333 a month49%56%

Who does it

29 or younger22%24%
30 to 5447%48%
55 and older31%28%
−12%

Jobs based in Center Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,037 → 915. 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.

Getting around · Walkability grade

Driving is how Center Township gets around

On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Center Township is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #303 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Indiana.

EPA walkability index 9.7 of 20 · typical IN town 5.6 · U.S. 6.9Higher than 82% of U.S. towns
Walk, bike or transit 0.0% of commuters · IN 3.3% · U.S. 7.1%Higher than 7% of U.S. towns
Indiana towns we grade 593 towns#303 of 593
C+C+

A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,023 workers.

How TownRatings grades walkability →

Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.

Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.0% of Center Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Center Township’s commuters take a bus or train.

Towns its size

Where Center Township sits among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800

#TownPeopleHousehold incomePovertyUnemploymentWork in townGrade
1Kenilworth IL2,437$250K2.1%4.0%2%A+
2Riverwoods IL3,766$249K0.7%0.7%2%A+
3Belle Meade TN2,621$250K1.4%0.3%2%A+
…
70Clark Township IN3,026$138K5.2%0.0%<1%A+
…
182Swan Township IN2,327$112K0.7%0.0%1%A+
…
186Leo-Cedarville IN3,790$116K0.0%2.3%2%A+
…
4,236Midland City AL2,298$28K30.6%0.9%3%D
4,237Hayward WI2,614$46K22.1%5.0%33%D
4,238Center Township IN2,801$53K16.2%8.2%22%D
4,239Chesterfield NY2,402$65K18.5%9.7%9%D
4,240Vado NM2,895$37K25.7%8.2%2%D
…
4,703Cibecue AZ2,228$26K57.2%13.3%12%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.

Next door

How Center Township compares with the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Union Township (1%).

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Parish Grove Township18 min
Oak Grove Township24 min
Richland Township25 min
Center Township25 min
Pine Township25 min

Jobs & commute next door

TownCenter Township workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Center Township–DC+25 min$52,907
Union Township1%————
Pine Townshipunder 2%——25 min—
Parish Grove Townshipunder 2%——18 min—
Richland Townshipunder 2%——25 min—
Oak Grove Townshipunder 2%C−D24 min$55,417

Same-state neighbors only. Union Township, Pine Township, Parish Grove Township and Richland Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Center Township: questions

What is the median household income in Center Township?

$52,907 (±$5,666) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Center Township?

16.2%, 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. 4% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Center Township work?

22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lafayette (17%, 27 mi), Fowler (15%, 2 mi), West Lafayette (11%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Is Center Township walkable?

Center Township is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.

Can you get around Center Township without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Center Township, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Center Township

Center Township home →

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.