Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainHouseholds in Indianapolis earn less than those in 64% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 15.8%, where Indiana State as a whole has 12.3%. Indianapolis grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. More than half stay in Indianapolis for work; outside it, Carmel is the main destination (5%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Indianapolis apart on work
The figures behind Indianapolis’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Indianapolis is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #356 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Indianapolis’ grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Indianapolis could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
In and out of Indianapolis on a workday
On a workday 153,113 residents head out to work, 242,218 work right here, and 339,688 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,097,000 people are in Indianapolis on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 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.
Where the trip to work from Indianapolis ends
Where Indianapolis clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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.
65% of the jobs in Indianapolis pay over $3,333 a month
581,906 jobs are based in Indianapolis.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Indianapolis, 2013 → 2023: 537,541 → 581,906. 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 Indianapolis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Indianapolis: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Indianapolis workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana State. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 383,184 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana State: 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 it is to work from Indianapolis
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Indianapolis
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Indianapolis is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #36 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above the 3.3% across Indiana State.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 445,505 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 63% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 8.4% of Indianapolis households have no vehicle (Indiana State 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Indianapolis’ commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Indianapolis is 15th of 19 U.S. towns of 637,000 to 1,229,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead NY | 795,734 | $141K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 28% | A |
| 2 | San Jose CA | 989,814 | $146K | 8.1% | 5.1% | 36% | A− |
| 3 | Seattle WA | 784,777 | $124K | 9.9% | 4.6% | 60% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Oklahoma City OK | 719,849 | $69K | 15.1% | 4.7% | 67% | B− |
| 14 | Louisville KY | 795,222 | $70K | 14.3% | 5.2% | 29% | B− |
| 15 | Indianapolis IN | 910,638 | $66K | 15.8% | 5.1% | 61% | B− |
| 16 | Las Vegas NV | 679,817 | $74K | 14.0% | 7.4% | 34% | B− |
| 17 | Columbus OH | 938,396 | $66K | 18.1% | 5.1% | 52% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Detroit MI | 649,095 | $40K | 32.7% | 14.0% | 31% | C− |
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 Indianapolis, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana State.
The towns around Indianapolis
The biggest share goes to Lawrence (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Indianapolis workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | – | B− | A− | 25 min | $66,307 |
| Lawrence | 1% | B+ | B− | 25 min | $74,022 |
| Pike Township | under 1% | B− | B+ | 25 min | $69,398 |
| Zionsville | under 1% | A+ | C+ | 23 min | $172,024 |
| Lawrence Township | under 1% | B− | B | 26 min | $72,081 |
| Brown Township | under 1% | A+ | C− | 25 min | $140,108 |
| Franklin Township | under 1% | A− | C | 26 min | $97,383 |
| Perry Township | under 1% | B | B+ | 25 min | $66,897 |
| Decatur Township | under 1% | C+ | C | 26 min | $70,206 |
| Vernon Township | under 1% | A+ | B | 29 min | $108,370 |
| McCordsville | under 1% | A+ | B | 32 min | $110,692 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Indianapolis’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 Indianapolis: questions
What is the median household income in Indianapolis?
$66,307 (±$967) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana State and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Indianapolis?
15.8%, against 12.3% across Indiana State and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Indianapolis?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana State and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Indianapolis work?
61% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carmel (5%, 13 mi), Plainfield (3%, 13 mi), Greenwood (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Indianapolis walkable?
Indianapolis is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Indianapolis without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Indianapolis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Indianapolis
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.