Photo: GKChest · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Chesterton (6.7%) is higher than in 80% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 26 minutes each way, next to 24 for Indiana and 26 for the U.S. Household incomes here are higher than in 69% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Chesterton is better than 56% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (B+). 6,515 jobs are based in Chesterton for 6,184 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Chesterton: the figures worth knowing
Chesterton trades workers with the towns around it
Chesterton has about as many jobs (6,515) as working residents (6,184), but they are mostly different people: 5,315 residents leave for work each day while 5,646 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Chesterton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Chesterton works from home
20% of Chesterton workers work from home, against 11% across Indiana. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Chesterton’s grade explained
Job access by car holds Chesterton’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chesterton could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Chesterton on a workday afternoon
On a workday 5,315 residents head out to work, 869 work right here, and 5,646 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.
The trip to work from Chesterton: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chesterton workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,747 commuters (the 20% 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.
11% of working residents work in Valparaiso
Where Chesterton clocks in
11% of workers
6% 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.
The kinds of work in Chesterton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chesterton, 2013 → 2023: 5,360 → 6,515. 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 Chesterton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Chesterton goes 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.
In Chesterton, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,210 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 5.4% of Chesterton households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Chesterton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chesterton next to U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000: 1,344th of 2,362 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Whitestown IN | 15,767 | $124K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | McCordsville IN | 13,094 | $111K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Brown Township IN | 15,523 | $140K | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,342 | Douglas Township IL | 12,693 | $75K | 13.1% | 2.1% | 43% | B |
| 1,343 | Auburn CA | 13,847 | $83K | 13.0% | 4.0% | 13% | B |
| 1,344 | Chesterton IN | 14,635 | $91K | 9.3% | 6.7% | 14% | B |
| 1,345 | Ferndale WA | 17,559 | $88K | 12.8% | 3.1% | 13% | B |
| 1,346 | Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace FL | 14,755 | $59K | 15.5% | 1.9% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Chesterton, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
11% of Chesterton works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Portage (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chesterton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterton | – | B | B+ | 26 min | $91,060 |
| Porter | 5% | B− | C+ | 29 min | $74,542 |
| Liberty Township | under 3% | B+ | C | 32 min | $96,563 |
| Westchester Township | under 3% | B | B+ | 26 min | $83,129 |
| Burns Harbor | under 3% | A− | B | 25 min | $98,500 |
| Portage | 6% | B− | B− | 27 min | $76,276 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chesterton’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 Chesterton: questions
What is the median household income in Chesterton?
$91,060 (±$11,923) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chesterton?
9.3%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chesterton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chesterton work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Valparaiso (11%, 8 mi), Portage (6%, 6 mi), Michigan City (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chesterton walkable?
Chesterton is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chesterton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chesterton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chesterton
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.