New Chicago has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Household incomes here are lower than in 78% of U.S. towns. Employers in New Chicago report 271 jobs, and 800 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income New Chicago is better than 41% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (C).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in New Chicago, in brief
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in New Chicago
Job access by car holds New Chicago’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($57,313, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Chicago could be anywhere from C− to B+.
New Chicago’s commute, mile by mile
About 15% 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.
In and out of New Chicago on a workday
On a workday 779 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 250 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in New Chicago on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
11% of working residents work in Chicago
Where New Chicago clocks in
11% of workers
8% 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.
In New Chicago, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Chicago, 2013 → 2023: 311 → 271. 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 New Chicago’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from New Chicago: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Chicago workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,015 commuters (the 5% 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.
Most trips from New Chicago start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Indiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,073 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). 7.5% of New Chicago households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of New Chicago’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700, New Chicago ranks 2,759th of 5,509 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Meridian Hills IN | 1,800 | $212K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Galena IN | 1,549 | $128K | 1.8% | 4.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 169 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,757 | Farmington WI | 2,122 | $71K | 9.9% | 3.1% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,758 | Glide OR | 1,823 | $74K | 5.2% | 7.0% | 14% | C+ |
| 2,759 | New Chicago IN | 1,988 | $57K | 16.7% | 4.8% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,760 | Watson NY | 1,767 | $69K | 8.6% | 2.7% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,761 | Pine Township PA | 1,837 | $69K | 7.7% | 9.7% | 5% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | 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 New Chicago, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
New Chicago and its neighbors: 10% work next door
The biggest share goes to Hobart (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Chicago workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Chicago | – | C+ | C | 23 min | $57,313 |
| Lake Station | 3% | C | B− | 27 min | $59,591 |
| Hobart | 7% | B | B− | 27 min | $75,160 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of New Chicago’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 New Chicago: questions
What is the median household income in New Chicago?
$57,313 (±$14,500) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Chicago?
16.7%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Chicago?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Chicago work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (11%, 29 mi), Merrillville (8%, 6 mi), Hobart (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Chicago walkable?
New Chicago is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Chicago without a car?
0% 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 New Chicago, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Chicago
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.