Photo: Missvain · CC BY 4.0At 6.3%, unemployment in Lapel is higher than in 77% of U.S. towns
Only 4% work in Lapel; the top destination outside it is Indianapolis (21%, 24 miles). The two grades for Lapel are B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Working residents average 26 minutes each way (Indiana 24, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Lapel apart on work
Jobs in Lapel have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Lapel went from 315 in 2013 to 654 in 2023, +108%. The jobs ↓
Lapel’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lapel is Indianapolis, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 21% of working residents (206) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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; with 991 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lapel
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lapel is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #238 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Lapel’s grade up (ahead of 76% 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, Lapel could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Making and building: 29% of jobs based in Lapel
654 jobs are based in Lapel.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lapel, 2013 → 2023: 315 → 654. 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 Lapel’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Lapel 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.
Lapel quiets down on a workday
On a workday 952 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 615 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Lapel on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.66 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.
Where Lapel goes to work
Where Lapel clocks in
21% of workers
10% 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.
About 26 minutes each way for Lapel’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lapel workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,124 commuters (the 17% 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.
In Lapel, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lapel is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #110 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Lapel near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,349 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). 4.9% of Lapel households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lapel’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lapel ranks: 1,731st of 5,083 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Meridian Hills IN | 1,800 | $212K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,729 | Benton Township IN | 3,276 | $94K | 7.2% | 5.2% | 6% | B |
| 1,730 | Montalvin Manor CA | 2,063 | $80K | 9.4% | 5.6% | 1% | B |
| 1,731 | Lapel IN | 2,570 | $80K | 6.4% | 6.3% | 4% | B |
| 1,732 | Belville NC | 3,199 | $82K | 10.7% | 3.5% | 1% | B |
| 1,733 | Bellevue Township MI | 3,218 | $84K | 10.7% | 2.7% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Lapel, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Around Lapel: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Stony Creek Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lapel workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lapel | – | B | B+ | 26 min | $79,778 |
| Wayne Township | under 2% | A− | D | 29 min | $94,037 |
| Stony Creek Township | 3% | B+ | B− | 27 min | $79,250 |
| Pendleton | 3% | B | A− | 24 min | $86,806 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lapel’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 Lapel: questions
What is the median household income in Lapel?
$79,778 (±$13,270) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lapel?
6.4%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lapel?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lapel work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Indianapolis (21%, 24 mi), Noblesville (13%, 9 mi), Anderson (10%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lapel walkable?
Lapel is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lapel without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lapel, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lapel
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.