Jobs and the daily commute in Merriam
Working residents average 25 minutes each way (Indiana 24, U.S. 26). For 0% of workers, the job is at home, where Indiana as a whole has 11%. Hardly any stay in Merriam for work; outside it, Fort Wayne is the main destination (27%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Merriam on a workday afternoon
On a workday 75 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 117 people come in from elsewhere.
About 310 people are in Merriam on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 Merriam’s workforce comes from
Where Merriam clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
A place that makes things: 68% of Merriam’s jobs are in goods
117 jobs are based in Merriam.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Merriam, 2013 → 2023: 121 → 117. 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 Merriam’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Merriam’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Merriam workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 103 commuters (the 0% 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.
The distance from Merriam to work
About 19% 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.
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 Merriam: questions
What is the poverty rate in Merriam?
1.1%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Merriam?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Merriam work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Wayne (27%, 20 mi), Elkhart (9%, 39 mi), Albion (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Merriam without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Merriam, from the people who make the trip.
More of Merriam
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.