Photo: Derek Jensen (Tysto) · Public domainHouseholds in Decatur earn less than those in 76% of U.S. towns
11.3% of residents live below the poverty line (Indiana 12.3%). For jobs and income Decatur is better than 49% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (B). About one in three stay in Decatur for work; outside it, Fort Wayne is the main destination (20%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Decatur
Decatur makes and builds things
35% of the jobs based in Decatur are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Decatur residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 31%. The jobs ↓
Few Decatur workers work from home
Only 3% 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.
The four measures behind Decatur’s grade
Unemployment holds Decatur’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($58,646, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Decatur could be anywhere from C to B+.
In Decatur, 35% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
6,284 jobs are based in Decatur.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Decatur, 2013 → 2023: 6,479 → 6,284. 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 Decatur’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Decatur: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Decatur workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,254 commuters (the 3% 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.
Decatur on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,201 residents head out to work, 1,653 work right here, and 4,631 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Decatur on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 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.
Commuting out of Decatur: the destinations
Where Decatur clocks in
5% 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.
The commute from Decatur, by distance
About 17% 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 Decatur, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,399 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). 8.4% of Decatur households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Decatur’s commuters take a bus or train.
Decatur next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000: 1,724th of 2,878 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | McCordsville IN | 13,094 | $111K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 149 | Miller Township IN | 10,161 | $113K | 3.0% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Lakes of the Four Seasons IN | 7,402 | $122K | 3.1% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,722 | Plain Township IN | 8,969 | $71K | 12.5% | 2.8% | 13% | B− |
| 1,723 | Camp Swift TX | 8,239 | $64K | 15.4% | 2.7% | 1% | B− |
| 1,724 | Decatur IN | 10,090 | $59K | 11.3% | 2.7% | 34% | B− |
| 1,725 | Stanwood WA | 9,421 | $90K | 8.0% | 6.4% | 11% | B− |
| 1,726 | Fruitvale CO | 8,019 | $78K | 9.9% | 4.0% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Decatur, 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 Decatur: questions
What is the median household income in Decatur?
$58,646 (±$5,324) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Decatur?
11.3%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Decatur?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Decatur work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Wayne (20%, 21 mi), Berne (5%, 12 mi), Bluffton (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Decatur walkable?
Decatur is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Decatur 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 Decatur, from the people who make the trip.
More of Decatur
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.