Work, pay and getting to work in Salem Township
About one in seven work in Salem Township; the top destination outside it is Winamac (14%, 16 miles). For jobs and income Salem Township is better than 14% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (C). The average commute takes 27 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Salem Township
Salem Township makes and builds things
45% of the jobs based in Salem Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Salem Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 36%. The jobs ↓
Salem Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Salem Township went from 502 in 2013 to 690 in 2023, +37%. 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; with 610 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Salem Township earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income holds Salem Township’s grade up ($69,545, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 11% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.2%) is left out: Salem Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Salem Township could be anywhere from D− to C.
In Salem Township, 45% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
690 jobs are based in Salem Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem Township, 2013 → 2023: 502 → 690. 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 Salem Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Salem Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 529 residents head out to work, 81 work right here, and 609 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 (1.13 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.
The places Salem Township commutes to
Where Salem Township clocks in
14% of workers
7% 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.
Salem Township’s commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 482 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Salem Township
About 24% 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 trips from Salem Township start in a car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.3% across Indiana, on an EPA index of 5.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 510 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). 3.1% of Salem Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Salem Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Salem Township is 3,718th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Galena IN | 1,549 | $128K | 1.8% | 4.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Ogden Dunes IN | 1,163 | $117K | 3.9% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,716 | Plum Creek VA | 1,068 | $42K | 15.8% | 10.0% | <1% | D |
| 3,717 | Oquawka Township IL | 1,571 | $55K | 13.5% | 14.7% | 12% | D |
| 3,718 | Salem Township IN | 1,272 | $70K | 18.4% | 3.2% | 13% | D |
| 3,719 | Peabody Township KS | 1,090 | $55K | 14.6% | 3.8% | 7% | D |
| 3,720 | Greenbush Township MI | 1,317 | $63K | 12.1% | 4.2% | 3% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Salem Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Salem Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to White Post Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | – | D | C | 27 min | $69,545 |
| White Post Township | 4% | C | C− | 29 min | $62,583 |
| Beaver Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Hanging Grove Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Beaver Township and Hanging Grove Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Salem 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 Salem Township: questions
What is the median household income in Salem Township?
$69,545 (±$13,820) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem Township?
18.4%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem Township?
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 Salem Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Winamac (14%, 16 mi), Francesville (7%, 2 mi), Rensselaer (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem Township walkable?
Salem Township is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Salem Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Salem 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.