Charles Barr House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAt 3.3%, unemployment in Greenfield is lower than in 65% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Greenfield are A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in five stay in Greenfield for work; outside it, Indianapolis is the main destination (34%, 20 miles). Commuters spend 26 minutes getting to work on average; the Indiana average is 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Greenfield
Greenfield trades workers with the towns around it
Greenfield has about as many jobs (13,300) as working residents (12,645), but they are mostly different people: 10,090 residents leave for work each day while 10,745 people come in. Only 19% of the jobs in Greenfield are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Greenfield and Indianapolis trade workers both ways
Indianapolis is the top workplace for Greenfield residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Greenfield come from (14% 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.
Income, poverty and work: Greenfield’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Greenfield is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #125 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($76,127, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Greenfield could be anywhere from B to A.
The daily commute in and out of Greenfield
On a workday 10,090 residents head out to work, 2,555 work right here, and 10,745 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 Greenfield to work: where people go
Where Greenfield clocks in
34% of workers
4% 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 Greenfield’s 13,300 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Greenfield, 2013 → 2023: 11,075 → 13,300. 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 Greenfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way for Greenfield’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Greenfield workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,438 commuters (the 11% 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.
How far Greenfield’s workers travel
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.
For most of Greenfield, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Greenfield is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #188 of 593 in Indiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,831 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). 4.1% of Greenfield households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Greenfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000, Greenfield ranks 561st of 1,477 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | St. John IN | 24,841 | $131K | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Zionsville IN | 33,624 | $172K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Vernon Township IN | 20,047 | $108K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 559 | Belmont CA | 28,752 | $205K | 6.9% | 7.2% | 4% | A− |
| 560 | Happy Valley OR | 28,916 | $122K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 4% | A− |
| 561 | Greenfield IN | 26,544 | $76K | 5.3% | 3.3% | 20% | A− |
| 562 | Walker MI | 25,881 | $76K | 7.6% | 2.9% | 11% | A− |
| 563 | Forest Lake MN | 20,952 | $93K | 7.0% | 4.3% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Greenfield, 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 Greenfield: questions
What is the median household income in Greenfield?
$76,127 (±$4,651) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Greenfield?
5.3%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Greenfield?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Greenfield work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Indianapolis (34%, 20 mi), Carmel (4%, 23 mi), Fishers (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Greenfield walkable?
Greenfield is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Greenfield without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Greenfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Greenfield
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.