William Gonnerman House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMount Vernon has lower household incomes than 70% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 14.9% of residents, next to 12.3% across Indiana. The two grades for Mount Vernon are C+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. For 3% of workers, the job is at home, against 11% across Indiana.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Mount Vernon in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Mount Vernon than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Mount Vernon fell from 3,195 in 2013 to 2,045 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Mount Vernon are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Indiana. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Indiana worker. Time on the road ↓
28% of Mount Vernon works in Evansville
781 working residents, 28%, have their main job in Evansville, 20 miles away. That’s more than work in Mount Vernon itself. The commute map ↓
Few Mount Vernon workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 11% across Indiana. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Why Mount Vernon gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mount Vernon is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #446 of 593 in Indiana. Unemployment holds Mount Vernon’s grade up (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mount Vernon could be anywhere from C− to B.
The kinds of work in Mount Vernon
2,045 jobs are based in Mount Vernon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mount Vernon, 2013 → 2023: 3,195 → 2,045. 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 Mount Vernon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Mount Vernon: about 17 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mount Vernon workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,784 commuters (the 3% 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.
28% of working residents work in Evansville
Where Mount Vernon clocks in
28% of workers
4% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Mount Vernon
On a workday 2,250 residents head out to work, 553 work right here, and 1,492 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,500 people are in Mount Vernon on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.73 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.
Half of Mount Vernon commutes less than 17 miles
About 17% 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.
Getting around Mount Vernon: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mount Vernon is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #85 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Mount Vernon 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 2,872 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). 6.0% of Mount Vernon households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mount Vernon’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Mount Vernon is 2,340th of 3,349 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Worth Township IN | 6,688 | $123K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Hidden Valley IN | 5,706 | $121K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 161 | New Whiteland IN | 5,937 | $90K | 3.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,338 | Blaine WA | 6,475 | $84K | 13.1% | 5.5% | 17% | C+ |
| 2,339 | Kirkwood NY | 5,274 | $59K | 15.2% | 3.9% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,340 | Mount Vernon IN | 6,289 | $62K | 14.9% | 3.9% | 20% | C+ |
| 2,341 | Monahans TX | 7,427 | $71K | 15.6% | 3.0% | 31% | C+ |
| 2,342 | Monroe Township OH | 7,922 | $93K | 12.1% | 11.6% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,349 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Mount Vernon, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Next door is work for 18% of Mount Vernon
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mount Vernon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon | – | C+ | B+ | 17 min | $62,263 |
| Black Township | 18% | B− | B | 19 min | $71,183 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Black Township. Darker towns draw more of Mount Vernon’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 Mount Vernon: questions
What is the median household income in Mount Vernon?
$62,263 (±$5,697) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mount Vernon?
14.9%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mount Vernon?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mount Vernon work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Evansville (28%, 20 mi), Black Township (18%, 2 mi), Indianapolis (4%, 158 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mount Vernon walkable?
Mount Vernon is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mount Vernon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mount Vernon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mount Vernon
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.