Photo: Evking22 · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Penn Township (5.3%) is higher than in 65% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 21 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. For jobs and income Penn Township is better than 44% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (B). About one in five stay in Penn Township for work; outside it, South Bend is the main destination (21%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Penn Township: the figures worth knowing
Much of Penn Township works one town over
46% of working residents work in a town that borders Penn Township: South Bend (21%), Mishawaka (20%) and Clay Township (2%). Next door ↓
Most Penn Township residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. 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.
Where Penn Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Penn Township’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Penn Township could be anywhere from C+ to B.
How far Penn Township goes to work
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 2024.
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 Penn Township on a workday
On a workday 25,973 residents head out to work, 6,590 work right here, and 20,010 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 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.
Out of Penn Township to work: where people go
Where Penn Township clocks in
21% of workers
20% of workers
13% 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.
Inside Penn Township’s 26,600 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Penn Township, 2014 → 2024: 24,492 → 26,600. 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 Penn Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Penn Township: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Penn Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 29,983 commuters (the 9% 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.
Driving is how Penn Township gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 32,938 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). 5.9% of Penn Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Penn Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
486th of 651: where Penn Township ranks among U.S. towns of 48,000 to 93,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Fall Creek Township IN | 75,188 | $146K | 3.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Westfield IN | 66,258 | $123K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Westfield Washington Township IN | 70,020 | $121K | 4.4% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 484 | West Haven CT | 55,351 | $74K | 14.1% | 7.3% | 12% | C+ |
| 485 | Conway AR | 72,328 | $63K | 16.9% | 3.6% | 41% | C+ |
| 486 | Penn Township IN | 68,726 | $66K | 12.5% | 5.3% | 20% | C+ |
| 487 | Turlock CA | 72,864 | $83K | 11.3% | 8.4% | 25% | C+ |
| 488 | Waukegan IL | 87,940 | $72K | 15.3% | 6.4% | 16% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 651 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 50% | 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 Penn Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
46% of Penn Township works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Penn Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Township | – | C+ | B | 21 min | $65,544 |
| Baugo Township | 1% | B+ | C− | 24 min | $80,960 |
| Portage Township | under 2% | C− | A | 20 min | $52,872 |
| Mishawaka | 20% | C | B+ | 21 min | $54,291 |
| South Bend | 21% | C | A− | 20 min | $55,786 |
| Harris Township | under 2% | A− | C+ | 23 min | $112,056 |
| Madison Township | under 2% | A− | B− | 21 min | $100,804 |
| Clay Township | 2% | B− | A− | 20 min | $72,406 |
| Cleveland Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 25 min | $84,375 |
| Granger | 2% | A− | C | 22 min | $123,318 |
| Centre Township | under 2% | A− | C | 21 min | $79,120 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to South Bend. Darker towns draw more of Penn Township’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 Penn Township: questions
What is the median household income in Penn Township?
$65,544 (±$2,803) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Penn Township?
12.5%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Penn Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Penn Township work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Bend (21%, 7 mi), Mishawaka (20%, 3 mi), Elkhart (13%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Penn Township walkable?
Penn Township is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Penn Township without a car?
1% 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 Penn Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Penn Township
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.