Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Portage (7.4%) is higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 27 minutes each way, where Indiana has 24 and the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Portage is better than 47% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (B−). About one in seven stay in Portage for work; outside it, Valparaiso is the main destination (8%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Portage and work: the main findings
The figures behind Portage’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Portage’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Portage could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Portage
On a workday 14,145 residents head out to work, 2,511 work right here, and 12,537 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 (0.90 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Portage: the destinations
Where Portage clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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 Portage, 30% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
15,048 jobs are based in Portage.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Portage, 2013 → 2023: 13,716 → 15,048. 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 Portage’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Portage
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Portage workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,114 commuters (the 6% 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.
Portage’s commute, mile by mile
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.
The commute in Portage is mostly behind the wheel
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 18,118 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 41% 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). 3.1% of Portage households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Portage’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000, Portage ranks 811th of 1,113 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Zionsville IN | 33,624 | $172K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 170 | Brownsburg IN | 34,089 | $102K | 7.5% | 1.6% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 809 | Portage Township IN | 48,733 | $77K | 11.9% | 6.9% | 16% | B− |
| 810 | West Springfield Town MA | 28,829 | $69K | 11.9% | 6.0% | 16% | B− |
| 811 | Portage IN | 38,634 | $76K | 11.6% | 7.4% | 15% | B− |
| 812 | Northampton MA | 31,047 | $80K | 13.4% | 5.5% | 32% | B− |
| 813 | Manitowoc WI | 34,671 | $64K | 12.6% | 3.7% | 48% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Portage, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Portage and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Gary (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Portage workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage | – | B− | B− | 27 min | $76,276 |
| Burns Harbor | under 3% | A− | B | 25 min | $98,500 |
| Portage Township | under 3% | B− | C+ | 27 min | $76,594 |
| Ogden Dunes | under 3% | A+ | A− | 37 min | $117,000 |
| Westchester Township | under 3% | B | B+ | 26 min | $83,129 |
| Chesterton | under 3% | B | B+ | 26 min | $91,060 |
| Gary | 7% | C− | B | 26 min | $38,731 |
| Calumet Township | under 3% | C− | B | 27 min | $46,882 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Portage’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 Portage: questions
What is the median household income in Portage?
$76,276 (±$4,260) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Portage?
11.6%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Portage?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Portage work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Valparaiso (8%, 10 mi), Gary (7%, 9 mi), Merrillville (5%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Portage walkable?
Portage is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Portage without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Portage, from the people who make the trip.
More of Portage
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.