Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Merrillville (7.5%) than in 86% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 32 minutes getting to work on average, where Indiana has 24 and the U.S. 26. Merrillville grades C+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 62% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Merrillville and work: the main findings
Merrillville workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Merrillville’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Merrillville is Chicago, IL, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (1,681) 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Merrillville gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Merrillville is better than 41% of U.S. towns, #402 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Merrillville’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Merrillville could be anywhere from C to B.
About 32 minutes each way for Merrillville’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Merrillville workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,672 commuters (the 7% 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 it is to work from Merrillville
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who leaves Merrillville for work, and who comes in
On a workday 13,881 residents head out to work, 1,996 work right here, and 20,369 people come in from elsewhere.
About 44,000 people are in Merrillville on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
11% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Merrillville clocks in
11% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
What work there is in Merrillville: 22,365 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Merrillville, 2014 → 2024: 20,807 → 22,365. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Merrillville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Merrillville: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Merrillville is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #131 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Merrillville 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 16,898 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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 Merrillville households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Merrillville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Merrillville is 897th of 1,162 U.S. towns of 26,000 to 50,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Zionsville IN | 33,624 | $172K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 17% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 175 | Brownsburg IN | 34,089 | $102K | 7.5% | 1.6% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 895 | Redan GA | 31,017 | $65K | 11.4% | 10.0% | 1% | C+ |
| 896 | Granite City IL | 26,807 | $59K | 14.8% | 5.7% | 17% | C+ |
| 897 | Merrillville IN | 37,407 | $68K | 12.6% | 7.5% | 13% | C+ |
| 898 | Austintown Township OH | 35,477 | $57K | 15.7% | 4.1% | 15% | C+ |
| 899 | Spring Valley NY | 34,482 | $57K | 27.6% | 4.2% | 10% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,162 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Merrillville, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
The towns next door employ 11% of Merrillville
The biggest share goes to Crown Point (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Merrillville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrillville | – | C+ | B+ | 32 min | $67,587 |
| Ross Township | under 3% | B− | B+ | 32 min | $72,416 |
| Crown Point | 6% | A | B− | 29 min | $101,686 |
| Hobart | 5% | B | B− | 27 min | $75,160 |
| Union Township | under 3% | A− | D | 32 min | $115,664 |
| Center Township | under 3% | A− | B− | 30 min | $102,336 |
| Calumet Township | under 3% | C− | B | 27 min | $46,882 |
| Winfield | under 3% | A | C− | 37 min | $135,870 |
| Hobart Township | under 3% | C+ | B− | 27 min | $70,273 |
| Winfield Township | under 3% | A | C | 35 min | $133,448 |
| St. John Township | under 3% | A− | B+ | 31 min | $103,035 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Merrillville’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 2024, 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 Merrillville: questions
What is the median household income in Merrillville?
$67,587 (±$7,864) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Merrillville?
12.6%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Merrillville?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Merrillville work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (11%, 32 mi), Gary (8%, 8 mi), Crown Point (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Merrillville walkable?
Merrillville is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Merrillville without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Merrillville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Merrillville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.