Photo: Nyttend · Public domainFewer people are out of work in Root Township (2.9%) than in 71% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 20 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. Root Township grades B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. About one in seven work in Root Township; the top destination outside it is Decatur (31%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Root Township
Root Township trades workers with the towns around it
Root Township has about as many jobs (2,583) as working residents (2,994), but they are mostly different people: 2,587 residents leave for work each day while 2,176 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Root Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Root Township makes and builds things
60% of the jobs based in Root Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Root Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 32%. The jobs ↓
Root Township and Decatur trade workers both ways
Decatur is the top workplace for Root Township residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Root Township come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Root Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Root Township went from 1,691 in 2013 to 2,583 in 2023, +53%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Root Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Root Township is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #325 of 593 in Indiana. Unemployment holds Root Township’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($63,492, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Root Township could be anywhere from C to B+.
A workday in Root Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,587 residents head out to work, 407 work right here, and 2,176 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 (0.86 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.
Root Township makes things: 60% of its jobs are in goods
2,583 jobs are based in Root Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Root Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,691 → 2,583. 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 Root Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Root Township goes to work
Where Root Township clocks in
31% of workers
4% 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Indiana
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Root Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,656 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.
Half of Root Township commutes less than 16 miles
About 17% 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.
Most of Root Township commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Root Township is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns, #442 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Root Township 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 2,803 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). 4.1% of Root Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Root Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Root Township is 1,904th of 3,370 U.S. towns of 4,300 to 8,300
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Worth Township IN | 6,688 | $123K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Hidden Valley IN | 5,706 | $121K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | New Whiteland IN | 5,937 | $90K | 3.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,902 | Eagleton Village TN | 5,598 | $72K | 11.8% | 5.5% | 1% | B− |
| 1,903 | Camp Swift TX | 8,239 | $64K | 15.4% | 2.7% | 1% | B− |
| 1,904 | Root Township IN | 6,163 | $63K | 12.1% | 2.9% | 14% | B− |
| 1,905 | Bullskin Township PA | 6,453 | $70K | 8.7% | 4.4% | 6% | B− |
| 1,906 | Theodore AL | 4,964 | $68K | 20.7% | 2.5% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,370 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Root Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Work in the towns next to Root Township
The biggest share goes to Washington Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Root Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root Township | – | B− | C− | 20 min | $63,492 |
| Washington Township | 1% | B | B+ | 27 min | $61,371 |
| Preble Township | under 2% | B+ | B− | 21 min | $78,125 |
| Madison Township | under 2% | B | D | 25 min | $84,167 |
| Union Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Union Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Root 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 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 Root Township: questions
What is the median household income in Root Township?
$63,492 (±$7,008) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Root Township?
12.1%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Root Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Root Township work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Decatur (31%, 4 mi), Fort Wayne (22%, 18 mi), Berne (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Root Township walkable?
Root Township is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Root Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Root Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Root Township
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.