Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in North Vernon are lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
North Vernon grades D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 16.7% of residents, next to 12.3% across Indiana. About one in five stay in North Vernon for work; outside it, Columbus is the main destination (16%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in North Vernon
North Vernon is where the jobs are
North Vernon has 5,307 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
North Vernon makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in North Vernon are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs North Vernon residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 33%. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in North Vernon
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Vernon is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #569 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds North Vernon’s grade up (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($51,429, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Vernon could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily flow of workers through North Vernon
On a workday 2,399 residents head out to work, 713 work right here, and 4,594 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,800 people are in North Vernon 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 2024, primary jobs.
Factories, building and farms: 40% of the jobs in North Vernon
5,307 jobs are based in North Vernon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Vernon, 2014 → 2024: 5,003 → 5,307. 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 North Vernon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where North Vernon’s workforce comes from
Where North Vernon clocks in
16% of workers
11% of workers
8% 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.
Getting to work from North Vernon takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Vernon workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,531 commuters (the 8% 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 many miles North Vernon commutes
About 27% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around North Vernon: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Vernon is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #264 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 2,752 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). 9.8% of North Vernon households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of North Vernon’s commuters take a bus or train.
North Vernon next to U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900
| # | 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% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Worth Township IN | 6,688 | $123K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,959 | Inverness FL | 7,796 | $44K | 15.0% | 5.9% | 19% | D |
| 2,960 | Pana IL | 5,010 | $46K | 13.3% | 6.4% | 25% | D |
| 2,961 | North Vernon IN | 6,559 | $51K | 16.7% | 7.1% | 23% | D |
| 2,962 | Williamsburg KY | 5,371 | $38K | 30.9% | 3.9% | 32% | D |
| 2,963 | Salem NJ | 5,389 | $39K | 24.8% | 10.2% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 North Vernon, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
How North Vernon compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Vernon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Vernon | – | D | B− | 23 min | $51,429 |
| Center Township | under 1% | C− | B− | 21 min | $51,165 |
| Country Squire Lakes | under 1% | D | C− | 22 min | $57,201 |
| Vernon Township | under 1% | B | D | 30 min | $77,131 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of North 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 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 North Vernon: questions
What is the median household income in North Vernon?
$51,429 (±$8,417) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Vernon?
16.7%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Vernon?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Vernon work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (16%, 20 mi), Seymour (11%, 15 mi), Indianapolis (8%, 60 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is North Vernon walkable?
North Vernon is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Vernon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Vernon, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Vernon
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.