Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0About half of Centerville’s working residents commute to Richmond
Measured by household income, Centerville is behind 88% of U.S. towns. Centerville grades C− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 6% work in Centerville; the top destination outside it is Richmond (46%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Centerville, in brief
Nearly half of Centerville works in Richmond
576 working residents, 46%, have their main job in Richmond, 5.8 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Centerville itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Centerville
58% of Centerville residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Centerville pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Centerville are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Indiana. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Indiana worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Centerville pay little
27% of the jobs based in Centerville pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
Why Centerville gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Centerville is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #544 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Centerville’s grade up (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($49,688, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Centerville could be anywhere from D to B−.
The towns that employ Centerville’s residents
Where Centerville clocks in
7% of workers
3% 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 Centerville’s 632 jobs
632 jobs are based in Centerville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Centerville, 2013 → 2023: 575 → 632. 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 Centerville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Centerville takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Centerville workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,020 commuters (the 8% 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 daily flow of workers through Centerville
On a workday 1,165 residents head out to work, 80 work right here, and 552 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Centerville on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.51 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.
Centerville’s commute, mile by mile
About 23% 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.
In Centerville, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Centerville is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns, #480 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.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,106 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). 7.6% of Centerville households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Centerville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700, Centerville ranks 3,989th of 4,969 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Clark Township IN | 3,026 | $138K | 5.2% | 0.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 184 | Swan Township IN | 2,327 | $112K | 0.7% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 207 | Wills Township IN | 2,111 | $113K | 1.8% | 0.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,987 | Kelly Ridge CA | 2,825 | $55K | 12.3% | 5.8% | 2% | C− |
| 3,988 | Ben Bolt TX | 2,152 | $62K | 16.3% | 7.5% | 2% | C− |
| 3,989 | Centerville IN | 2,742 | $50K | 14.2% | 7.4% | 6% | C− |
| 3,990 | Paw Paw MI | 3,386 | $42K | 21.9% | 5.7% | 10% | C− |
| 3,991 | South Zanesville OH | 1,907 | $39K | 15.8% | 2.6% | 3% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 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 Centerville, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
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 Centerville: questions
What is the median household income in Centerville?
$49,688 (±$8,193) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Centerville?
14.2%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Centerville?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Centerville work?
6% work in town.
Is Centerville walkable?
Centerville is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Centerville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Centerville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Centerville
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.