David Worth Dennis House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRichmond’s household incomes are lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income D: better than 13% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #570 of 593 in Indiana.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns · #47 of 593 in Indiana.
Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Indiana 24, U.S. 26). More than half work in Richmond; the top destination outside it is Indianapolis (8%, 67 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Richmond
Richmond’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Richmond is Indianapolis, 67 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (1,149) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Richmond is where the jobs are
Richmond has 21,521 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Richmond are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Indiana. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Indiana worker. 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.
What’s behind Richmond’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Richmond is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #570 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Richmond’s grade up (ahead of 58% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (25.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Richmond could be anywhere from D to C−.
Half of Richmond commutes less than 4 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 28% 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.
Richmond fills up on a workday
On a workday 7,006 residents head out to work, 7,296 work right here, and 14,225 people come in from elsewhere.
About 43,000 people are in Richmond on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
1.5 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.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Indiana
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Richmond workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,495 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.
Where Richmond’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Richmond clocks in
8% of workers
2% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 21,521 jobs in Richmond are
21,521 jobs are based in Richmond. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Richmond’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Richmond, 2013 → 2023: 20,593 → 21,521. 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.
Richmond is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Richmond is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #47 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Richmond 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 14,158 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). 12.4% of Richmond households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Richmond’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Richmond compares with U.S. towns of 25,000 to 48,000
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Richmond, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
| # | 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 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Zionsville IN | 33,624 | $172K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Brownsburg IN | 34,089 | $102K | 7.5% | 1.6% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,180 | Huntington WV | 44,815 | $45K | 25.7% | 6.8% | 45% | D |
| 1,181 | Leesburg FL | 38,905 | $53K | 16.4% | 10.5% | 16% | D |
| 1,182 | Richmond IN | 35,376 | $45K | 25.4% | 6.9% | 51% | D |
| 1,183 | Muskogee OK | 36,760 | $50K | 24.1% | 6.7% | 47% | D |
| 1,184 | Decatur Township IL | 45,203 | $49K | 24.2% | 9.9% | 43% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,219 | 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.
Richmond and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Wayne Township (1%). Darker towns draw more of Richmond’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Richmond workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | – | D | A− | 19 min | $45,399 |
| Spring Grove | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Wayne Township | 1% | C− | A− | 20 min | $47,930 |
| Center Township | under 2% | C+ | C− | 21 min | $68,821 |
Same-state neighbors only. Spring Grove: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Richmond: questions
What is the median household income in Richmond?
$45,399 (±$5,559) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Richmond?
25.4%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Richmond?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Richmond work?
51% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Indianapolis (8%, 67 mi), Eaton (2%, 15 mi), Muncie (2%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Richmond walkable?
Richmond is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Richmond without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Richmond, from the people who make the trip.
More of Richmond
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.