Photo: Derek Jensen (Tysto) · CC BY 2.0More people are out of work in Nappanee (6.0%) than in 74% of U.S. towns
For 2% of workers, the job is at home; Indiana has 11%. Nappanee grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in five stay in Nappanee for work; outside it, Elkhart is the main destination (12%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Nappanee
Nappanee makes and builds things
64% of the jobs based in Nappanee are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Nappanee residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 47%. The jobs ↓
Nappanee is where the jobs are
Nappanee has 5,433 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Nappanee draws workers from far and wide
The 5,433 jobs in Nappanee are filled from a wide area. Nappanee’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Few Nappanee workers work from home
Only 2% 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.
Inside Nappanee’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Nappanee is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #377 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Nappanee’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nappanee could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Making and building: 64% of jobs based in Nappanee
5,433 jobs are based in Nappanee.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nappanee, 2013 → 2023: 4,110 → 5,433. 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 Nappanee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Nappanee
On a workday 2,441 residents head out to work, 720 work right here, and 4,713 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,200 people are in Nappanee on a workday afternoon, 33% more than live here.
1.7 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 Nappanee’s workers come from
Where Nappanee clocks in
12% of workers
11% 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.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Nappanee
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nappanee workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,911 commuters (the 2% 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 Nappanee
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.
Nappanee is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Nappanee is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #42 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Nappanee 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 3,977 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). 6.5% of Nappanee households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Nappanee’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300, Nappanee ranks 2,033rd of 3,229 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 171 | New Whiteland IN | 5,937 | $90K | 3.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,031 | Mount Vernon MO | 4,835 | $53K | 13.8% | 2.0% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,032 | Green OR | 7,541 | $67K | 10.6% | 3.1% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,033 | Nappanee IN | 6,885 | $69K | 9.1% | 6.0% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,034 | Hudson Falls NY | 7,333 | $63K | 10.0% | 4.1% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,035 | South Ottawa Township IL | 8,299 | $84K | 13.5% | 4.7% | 4% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | 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 Nappanee, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Nappanee and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Nappanee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nappanee | – | C+ | A− | 21 min | $68,892 |
| Locke Township | under 2% | B | A− | 19 min | $87,734 |
| Scott Township | under 2% | B+ | B− | 15 min | $86,629 |
| Union Township | 2% | B+ | A− | 20 min | $72,422 |
| Jefferson Township | under 2% | A | B− | 20 min | $101,481 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Union Township. Darker towns draw more of Nappanee’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 Nappanee: questions
What is the median household income in Nappanee?
$68,892 (±$11,551) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nappanee?
9.1%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nappanee?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nappanee work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elkhart (12%, 17 mi), Goshen (11%, 12 mi), Wakarusa (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nappanee walkable?
Nappanee is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nappanee 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 Nappanee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nappanee
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.